Lick The Pavement
by Dead Caffeine Junkie
Summary: Mutants become the victims of attack and experimentation by an organisation known as the MSDC. When the decimated X-Men and B'hood groups rescue some new mutants, will they be able to take back their lives? Chapter 16 up.
1. Prologue

Lick The Pavement

Logan paced behind the large backed chair in the office, while Scott tried to unlock the information on the disk.

The mission to retrieve the disk from the 'Mutant Suppression And Detainment Centre' meant that he had lost out on buying a new bike, one that he wouldn't likely have a chance to buy ever again.

"I'm telling you Shades, whatever's on that disk had better be good." He growled.

Scott's fingers flew across the large keyboard as the screen flashed and scrolled, mainly filled with error messages.

"It's going to help us help a lot of other mutants Logan. It's gonna be worth it, trust me."

Logan muttered under his breath about how Scott owed him big time for this.

A few minutes later, the computer chimed and reams of data streamed down the screen. 

Scott whooped and spun the chair in celebration.

"Yea, I'm in."

Logan stalked over and studied the screen.

"So how exactly is this gonna help us?"

Scott turned back to the screen and scrolled down.

"Look! It's all the information they had about the prison. Blueprints, guard rotas, personal info… we've even got prisoner profiles."

Logan was appeased by their success as he read through one of the blank prisoner forms.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

**General:**

Name: 

Nickname:

Gender:

Age:

Nationality:

**Abilities:**

Power:

Limitation:

Appearance of power (if notable):

**Appearance:**

Height:

Eyes:

Hair (style and colour):

Build:

Face Shape:

Skin Tone:

Inhuman features:

**Marking:**

Scars:

Tattoos:

Piercings:

Glasses/Contacts/Neither

Jewellery:

**Details Of Capture:**

Place where caught:

Circumstances of capture:

People they were with:

Found wearing:

**Personality:**

Including, but not limited to:-

- intelligence

- education, if any

- attitude towards humans

- attitude to authority

- behaviour in social situations

- behaviour when on own

- behaviour under stress and pressure

**History:**

Including, but not limited to:-

- Parents and their current status

- Last known guardian/person they lived with last

- Circumstances of birth

- Siblings

- Childhood life and experiences

- Scholastic life and experiences

- General living experiences

- Trauma, if any

- Wealth status

- Personal reaction to emergence of powers

**Health:**

Smoker:

Drink?:

Drugs: 

- if any, are they dependent or not

- if previously, when did they start, how serious was it and how long ago did they stop

Physical health concerns:

Medication:

Mental health concerns:

Medication:

Any requirement other than the usual basic necessary requirements:

General Health:

**Tactical:**

Rate the prisoners on:

- Speed

- Physical Strength 

- Mental Strength

- 'Street' smarts

- Basic Intelligence

- Scholastic Intelligence

- Fighting Skill, including any training previously

- Agility

- Durability

**Personal:**

Qualities that attract them:

Qualities that repel them:

Fears:

Phobias:

Musical taste:

Hobbies and other leisure activities:

Can they swim?

            If yes, how well?

Do they deal well with heights?

Do they deal well with small spaces?

Do they deal well with the dark?

Do they deal well in crowds?

Sayings or quotes:

Please send all completed forms to the interior prison email service, records department at:

deadcjunkie@hotmail.com

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It seemed like it was worth missing out on buying a motorbike in return for this information.

 Luckily, with help from the mutants still alive after the practical mutant holocaust, they'd be able to rebuild the dream of the late Charles Xavier and make the planet more secure for mutants everywhere.


	2. Chapter One: Gabriel Devitt

Lick The Pavement  
  
Chapter One: Picking up the first  
  
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//There's a club if you'd like to go You could meet somebody who really loves you So you go and you stand on your own And you leave on your own And you go home and you cry And you want to die//  
  
How Soon Is Now - The Smiths  
  
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Gabriel Devitt laughed out loud as he knocked back a single shot of vodka, his first for the night.  
  
So underage at only fifteen, yet he could get in and out of the clubs like he owned them.  
  
He guessed it was because he'd been around for so long, eventually the bouncers get to know you... and some of them he 'knew' very well indeed.  
  
He was only tiny, no more than 5'3", and he wore flat-soled ankle boots, which did nothing to boost his height. His bizarre odd-coloured eyes, the left a mercury silver like grey, the right a liquid orange warm amber, were both accentuated by the dark and smoky grey-black eye-shadow, helped by black eyeliner.  
  
His hair was matte-black, with a dark blue sheen only noticeable in bright light. It as cut to about an inch beneath his ears and he wore it choppy and loose, although he had somehow, in the few minutes that he'd been in the club, managed to get it dusted with glitter.  
  
He was here to pick someone up.  
  
Blunt, but honest. He had no worries about not being able to pick someone up. The club he was in, 'The Dirty Needle' was well known for being a prime pick-up joint. Plus, he was beautiful for a boy, he wasn't being arrogant, it was simply truth.  
  
Some boys would hate the description, but for him, it was the only way he could be sure of having a warm bed and a meal each night.  
  
He had a delicate, fey featured face and a dainty, fragile looking body which made him attractive to all kinds of people.  
  
It didn't hurt that he chose his clothes to make sure that he left nothing to the imagination, yet still hid some secrets. It was a paradox that worked well for him. He was dressed in sinfully tight black shimmering tight trousers which were slightly flared at the bottom and low cut at the waist. He showed his stomach off in a short belly top, black, with 'Rent Boy' written across it in italics in silver glitter, but a long sleeved black mesh top, covering the bare midriff and low in the neck again hid what was plainly in sight.  
  
It was an outfit designed to pull, and it didn't fail him.  
  
Only one of his tattoos was exposed in the revealing clothes, the dark angel with the tattered wings, three inches high on the right of his lower back. It said a lot about him, in one tiny little image.  
  
He accompanied the whole image with dark purple nail polish and suggestive accessories, a bondage style collar with rings in place of spikes, and spiked cuffs on each wrist.  
  
The harsh club lighting glittered menacingly from the silver links of the chain belt hung loosely around his waist, and glinted from his lip ring.  
  
He danced like sin, moving in a poorly disguised imitation of sex to the base-heavy 'My Own Summer' by the Deftones.  
  
Sure enough, a stranger appeared behind him within minutes, tall and young, though not as young as Gabriel himself was.  
  
Just as he liked them then.  
  
They danced together for a bit, almost obscenely, grinding together and heightening the frustrated lustful energy that flooded the place, making Gabriel's skin tingle.  
  
The man bent to whisper hotly in his ear.  
  
"Can we go outside?"  
  
Gabriel just turned, holding his hand and smirked, leading the other man through the seething throng to the back door, leading out into the cool biting air of the alley outside.  
  
Gabriel turned and leant back against the wall.  
  
"You wanted to come outside?" He asked, faux innocently.  
  
His mark shook his head and sidestepped, leaving Gabriel open to an unexpected attack. The other person stepped forward smartly and sprayed some kind of liquid into Gabriel's face.  
  
Before Gabriel could make any move, the chemical had disabled him, and he sank down into blackness.  
  
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The man who had 'pulled' Gabriel spat on the floor, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.  
  
"Next time, someone ELSE is gonna get the fuckin' mutie, okay?"  
  
A friend of his, dressed inconspicuously, laughed back at him and he continued to complain as the body of the young boy was dragged into the side of a blacked out van.  
  
The doors closed, and the van, and its contents, sped off into the night.  
  
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It doesn't suck at all, really it doesn't!!!  
  
As you can see, I'm not afraid to go for the really dark and seedy things here, so be as imaginative in your descriptions as you like. ^___^  
  
Here's Gabriel's profile, if you're interested.  
  
General: Name: Gabriel Devitt Nickname: Devi, Dev, Gabe Gender: Male Age: 15 Nationality: British Abilities: Power: He can use emotional or natural energy as either an attacking power, to power machinery, or to affect how people are acting.  
  
Limitation: His power is amazingly volatile and unpredictable. Often he will become affected by the energy himself. Appearance of power (if notable): Simply emerged aged nine. Appearance: Height: 5'3" Eyes: Odd. The left is grey, almost silver; the right is amber in colour. Hair (style and colour): Haphazard choppily cut, about an inch below his ears, matte black in colour with a dark blue sheen. Build: Small, undernourished, fragile. His appearance is bird-like and frail. Face Shape: Delicate, fey, almost feminine. Fine bone structure with high cheekbones. Skin Tone: Very cold almost blue skin tone. Inhuman features: None Marking: Scars: What appears to be a human bite mark on his shoulder at the juncture where it meets the neck. Small crescent shaped scars around the hips, suggesting forceful restraint. Numerous scars on the feet, source unknown, maybe caused either by glass or gravel. Small yet deep scar just under hairline on the left side above the eye, looks to be caused by some hard knock. Tattoos: On the right side of his lower back he has the image of a dark angel with tattered wings, about three inches from top to bottom, with the two wings visible around the upper shoulders and head of a genderless figure, all in black. Some of the wings and one or two loose feathers are shaded in purple.  
  
He has a kanjii under the end of his right collarbone, which apparently translates into 'dirty'. Piercings: Lip ring, bottom studs in each lobe, two hoops and a tragus on the right, a scaffold and a rook on the left Glasses/Contacts/Neither: Neither Jewellery: Black dog collar with hoops instead of rings, studded wrist cuffs, one on each wrist, silver chain link belt. Details Of Capture: Place where caught: 'The Dirty Needle' a well-known dance club with a bad reputation Circumstances of capture: He was lured out of the way of the crowds by an agent who pretended to 'pick him up' and was caught with minimum fuss outside the club. People they were with: The prisoner was alone at the time. Found wearing: Black ankle length boots, flat-soled; black shimmering tight trousers, slightly flared at the bottom, low cut at the waist; a short belly top, black, with 'Rent Boy' written across it in italics in silver glitter; a long sleeved black mesh top, covering the bare midriff, low in the neck. Personality: The prisoner is seemingly bright but reluctant to actively search out knowledge. He has little formal education but has extensive knowledge of basic living skills and common sense.  
  
He seems to hold no deterrence towards the human race.  
  
He is disrespectful to authority figures and has aggravated many of the members of staff through swearing, flirting or generally being stubborn. He revels in social situations and enjoys interacting with his peer group, although he has no apparent desire to be the centre of attention, he is not the kind of person who would be easily ignored.  
  
He seems to become more serious under pressure and can cope quite well except for certain situations, e.g. involving water. He seems to resent being alone and will often talk to himself.  
  
This prisoner was sent for psychiatric screening.  
  
The patient showed many manic symptoms, including an extroverted yet desperate sense of self, disregard for personal health and safety, an increased libido, disregard for personal relationships and hyperactive behaviour.  
  
He also displayed deep-seated insecurities, self-hatred, inner despair and feelings of worthlessness and is also self-depreciating.  
  
He seems to be covering a sense of collapse, panic, anxiety and chaos with a veneer of brash, over-zealous and extravagant behaviour. These personality traits fit with his behaviour, i.e. taking up heroin, the promiscuous behaviour, the bad decisions in relationships.  
  
There are deeper lying issues that haven't been dealt with and I feel that the patient is in an unstable and volatile state of mind.  
  
History: The prisoner's father is unknown, to him and his mother. His mother was a young rape victim who was then disowned for keeping the baby. She tried to look after the child but ended up hating it for being a drain on her energy, her time and her funds and for being a reminder of her attack.  
  
He has no known siblings.  
  
She enrolled him in basic schooling from start to age seven, but pulled him out and admitted him to foster care, unable to look after him anymore. Her current whereabouts are unknown.  
  
The prisoner was not fostered throughout his time at foster care due to his obvious mutation in the form of his eyes, plus the fact that he was badly behaved, described as a disturbed child and was an older child.  
  
Although entered for schooling again, he admits to never attending. Records confirmed this.  
  
He disclosed that the foster home, which was later closed due to unacceptable conditions and many cases of child abuse, was unfit for children and that he and the other long-term children were often abused. His fear of water apparently stems from a punishment where the children were held head first in a bathtub until they passed out.  
  
Many of the scars are believed to originate from here.  
  
The appearance of his powers did not cause any great disturbance, as he was apparently afraid of them and refused to use them.  
  
Having no independent wealth and suffering at the foster home, the prisoner left with a small group of other children, one of which had become his partner, despite being two years older than he was.  
  
He estimates that he was ten at this time.  
  
The group splintered down until they eventually separated altogether. After breaking up with his partner, the prisoner states that he used people for somewhere to stay and eat, by which I presume that he slept with various people, professing love in some cases, then living off them until he was kicked out. It was apparently through a boyfriend that the prisoner got into heroin and became addicted through continuous use.  
  
He left the UK and entered America, again with another boyfriend, and did more of the same.  
  
The last person he was living with again dumped him and he was apparently 'bouncing' that is, sleeping with a different person every night until he found somewhere better.  
  
Health: Smoker: Was apparently a heavy user before capture. Has since been going through nicotine withdrawal. Drink: Although underage he seems to both enjoy drink and is fairly adept at holding it Drugs: Has confessed to being a heroin user Is currently being treated with methadone for addiction Is still being treated, although he claims to have been an on/off user from eleven, but a full blooded intravenous user from thirteen Physical health concerns: None, except for heroin withdrawal. Has been screened for STD's, the results were clear. Medication: Methadone Mental health concerns: Displays some symptoms of psychosis or bi-polar disorder, is currently being observed. Medication: None as of yet Any requirement other than the usual basic necessary requirements: No. General Health: Below average. The prisoner is undernourished and suffering from slight malnutrition, as well as exhaustion and stress. He displays manic tendencies and a disregard for his personal safety. Further containment in the mental and physical health clinic is advised. Tactical: Rate the prisoners on: Speed - Displays a natural ability for both speedy and long distance running  
  
Physical Strength - Poor, due to poor health and a weak body and muscle structure  
  
Mental Strength - Questionable; fairly strong in problem solving and improvisation but is in a vulnerable state at the moment; may be unstable  
  
'Street' smarts - Very high; is entirely self-sufficient, although not in the best of ways  
  
Basic Intelligence - Seems to be bright enough, picks things up fast, although he seems unwilling to actively learn  
  
Scholastic Intelligence - Very poor, especially due to a lack of education, but also an unwillingness to learn and a short attention span  
  
Fighting Skill, including any training previously - He fights with no skill but ferocity and has no qualms about fighting dirty, what he lacks in finesse and methodology he makes up for in spirit, determination and viciousness; no formal training  
  
Agility - High; naturally very agile and well-balanced  
  
Durability - Above average Personal: Qualities that attract them: Prisoner is apparently attracted to arrogance, often leaning towards older, more settled people, but also people who are likely to form no emotional attachment and who are likely to look out for themselves before him; seems to be attracted exclusively to men in a physical way. Qualities that repel them: He dislikes exuberant, sullen or clumsy people, and has a low tolerance for stupidity. He isn't attracted to members of the opposite sex. He also seems to dislike people who may begin to have an emotional attachment to him. He is clearly uncomfortable with intimacy of that kind. Phobias: Prisoner seems to be terrified of water, and refuses to swim. Fears: Has displayed fear of intimacy and a low tolerance for small spaces. Musical taste: Is relaxed by listening to rock music. Some bands that were tested were Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Iggy Pop, The Smiths, Placebo and The Cure Hobbies and other leisure activities: Seems to have a hidden interest in street art. Can they swim? Unknown, but unlikely.  
If yes, how well? The prisoner is too afraid to attempt to swim. Do they deal well with heights? Very well Do they deal well with small spaces? Below average Do they deal well with the dark? Average, some anxiety Do they deal well in crowds? Average, some over-confidence Sayings or quotes:  
  
"You're repressing, aren't you."  
  
"What the fuck ever."  
  
"'It costs more for a fuck than suck sweetheart." "If I wasn't so tirelessly disinterested in whatever you're saying I might be bothered to actually kick you in the balls, if you had any I mean." "If everything is going well, you don't know what the hell is going on."  
  
"Don't hit a man when he's down -- kick him; it's easier"  
  
"The bigger they are, the harder they punch."  
  
"I'm trying to imagine you with a personality."  
  
"Chaos, panic, disorder - My work here is done." 


	3. Chapter Two: Mae Willo Lumbargh

**Lick The Pavement**

          Chapter Two: Mae Willo Lumbargh

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//This is the happy house-we're happy here

 There's room for you if you say "I do"

But don't say no or you'll have to go

We've done no wrong with our blinkers on

 It's safe and calm if you sing along//

Happy House - Siouxsie and the Banshees

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            Mae Willo Lumbargh, or Lia, as she preferred, was happy with her lot in life.

            She was talented, gifted, privileged in that she came from a family with wealth, status and a sense of familial closeness. She was given everything her parents could afford to help her achieve her best potential, and although she had money, she remained aware of how hard she had to work to get the things she wanted and thus didn't become a spoilt brat as others in her position might have done.

            She was also intelligent, with an analytical frame of mind and a level-headed approach to life.

            She wasn't tall, being only 5'4" at the most, and knew that her body didn't conform to the slim and elegant lines of the women in beauty magazines, being slightly thick in shape, despite her great musculature... but she didn't let this worry her unduly, and had faith that she would grow out of it sooner or later. 

            She had unusual eyes, a dull hazel in colour, although they were lively with life. Her hair was gorgeous, long, down to her waist, straight and blonde. But being blonde all the time got dull sometimes, so she had opted to dye black streaks throughout it, giving it less of a 'perfect doll' look and more of a 'natural' look.

            Mae Willo Lumbargh was happy with her lot in life... until her parents found out that she was a mutant.

            Still dressed in her pyjamas, clutching a bag of things that she'd been allowed to scrape together, sitting on the sofa while her parents stood on either side of her, father stoic, mother looking wet in the eyes, but also compassionless, Lia wondered why they were doing this to her.

            She looked normal. Dressed in silk blue pyjama bottoms, with little planets and stars on them, and a white spaghetti-strap tank top, she looked like every other seventeen year old girl who ever sat on a sofa in trouble, while their parents stalked around until it was time to be told off.

            Only this was something much worse than a simple scolding.

            She hadn't meant to reveal herself to them, and hadn't even been concerned over it until it had happened.

            Sitting at dinner, she had let a burp escape her, and the toxic dust that was her power had escaped in little sparks and glints of red and silver.

            Everything had silenced.

            Her parents and her younger sister, Emma, stared at her. 

            She grinned at them sheepishly.

            "Uhm. There's something I probably should tell you, right?"

            And after it had come out, her 'terrible secret' which she didn't find so terrible at all, her parents had turned around and betrayed her to the mutant police. 

            She sat, like a hostage in her own house, like a war criminal, not looking the people who had been her loving parents in the face, waiting with empty dread for them to arrive.

            When they did arrive, it was quietly and eerily normal, like it was an everyday occurrence.

            "That's her officer." Her dad said, stepping back.

            "Do be careful, we don't know what her powers are yet." Her mum said.

            "Come with me miss." One of the masked policemen said to her, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder. She sighed and stood, knowing that it would be a worthless attempt to try and escape.

            She heard her little sister, only eight, start to whimper from the top of the stairs.

            "Where are they taking Lia? Mummy? Where's Lia going?"

            She heard her mother calming her sister down, and refused to look back at them, head held high, she stalked out of the house, escorted by the police officers.

            She didn't walk out like a Lumbargh... she walked out like a Lady.

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Hope this fulfilled your expectations my gorgeous. I loved Lia, she was such a different character, with the wealthy family and good history and everything. She's such a sweetie to write as well.

Guys, don't stop submitting, I haven't got half the entries I was expecting yet. There may still be hope!

I kinda need some guy to pair with Gabriel. Just read through his profile at the bottom of Chapter one, it should tell you what he's looking for.

Until next time, love, peace and empathy.


	4. Chapter Three: Bryn Zeitsagen

**Lick The Pavement**

            Chapter Three: Bryn Zeitsagen

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//Yes he was alright the song went on forever

And he was awful nice

Really quite out of sight

And he sang all night long//

Lady Stardust - David Bowie

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            Bryn Zeitsagen was blessed with a family who weren't just rich... they were _very_ rich.

            His Italian mother was an opera singer and his German father was a composer so He came from a background that was very classical , very restrained, and very high culture.

            Which is why it was such a shock to Bryn to be seized in his own home one Tuesday night. They had an advanced security system so he couldn't understand how the men had managed to get in.

            They were dressed in plain navy colours, with face masks, and seemed very regimental.

            Bryn threw a glance at each of the men holding an arm and looked to the intruder who seemed to be giving the orders.

            His mother, who had been sitting at the piano, stood up when the first figure burst in and screamed as the glass from the large window shattered around her.

            ~Who are you, what are you doing with my son?~ She demanded answers from them rather than asking, speaking in rapid-fire Italian.

            ~We've had a report that your son is a mutant ma'am.~ The person in command told her. ~I'm afraid we're going to have to take him away.~

            ~What?~ She excalimed.

            Bryn spoke up.

            ~What? You can't take me away! What gives you the right to so this?~

            ~It's the law son. All mutants have to be categorised and detained in our holding centre in America. Now come along with us.~

            Bryn's mother stalked across to stand between her son and the commander.

            ~Where did these accusations come from?~

            ~We can't release the name of our informant madam, sorry.~ He apologised.

            He switched to German.

            {It was Rosa.} He told her

            His mother turned to him and stared him in the eye.

            {How do you know that?} She asked him, also in German.

            He didn't look at her and she realised it was true. She stared at him for a minute, then slapped him sharply.

            {You should have told me.} She said reproachfully.

            He said nothing as they led him out, to the sound of his mother lamenting and screaming in the background.

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I still need more characters, although time is running out. PLEASE submit. The next chapter will be out soon... 

Until next time, love, peace and emapthy.


	5. Chapter Four: Liz Blake

**Lick The Pavement**

            Chapter Four: Liz Blake

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// And I wanna fly  
I'll never come down  
And live my life  
And have friends around //

We Never Change - Coldplay

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            The bizarre looking girl stood stunned, shivering in her tight black tank top and baggy blue jeans, her bare arms against the cold not the only thing that was causing her shudders.

            Around her lay the remains of one man, now melted into a unidentifiable puddle of liquids on the floor, a result of her panicking and using her powers during the fight.

            Let's back up.

            Liz Blake kissed her boyfriend of five years goodbye and stepped out of the house to meet her friend Tora. They were going to meet up at the William Corbett pub and go from there to the Pulse, a nightclub they knew.

            She checked herself in the mirror before stepping out. 

            Her eyes were dark green and lined in eyeliner, making them seem even larger and more exotic.

            A spiked black collar circled her neck and the two studs in each ear gave her a toughened look, which wasn't in any way downplayed by the glorious array of colour that was her hair.

            It was black, fairly big and wavy, coming down to mid-back, but it had blue highlights and was fronted with red bangs. The effect was electric.

            Satisfied with her image, she stepped out and made her way to the pub.

            Having met Tora at the pub and having a quick drink, she made her way with her friend to the Pulse. As they queued outside trouble stirred.

            A small group of around four or five young men staggered, forcibly ejected from the club.

            "Go home and sober up boys." The bouncer told them before going back inside.

            They stumbled past Tora and Liz and Liz's hair must have called to them as they surrounded the two girls, laughing and teasing them.

            "Hey girls, looking for a good time? Well you found it." One of them said, the stench of alcohol covering them.

            Liz and Tora were uncomfortable and told the boys where to go. They were pushed down an alley before they knew what was going on.

            "Fucking bitch, I'll show you…" One of them slurred at Tora, who kneed him in the balls.

            He collapsed, doubled over, and they tried to run, but one of the other boys caught them by the hair and dragged them back.

            "You whore, you're gonna pay for that." One of them screamed, drawing a knife.

            The next few minutes were a blur to Liz.

            She heard Tora gasp over a terrible wet packing noise, and saw her slump to the ground. The boy with the knife stood frozen, blood over his arm, face white.

            The other members of the group fled as she shot a red substance form her hands, which covered the boy with the knife. He screamed and tried to remove it as it burnt through him, to no avail. 

            Soon, he had gone, melted away totally, his screams still ringing and echoing in the alley.

            When the mutant police came they found Liz knelt on the floor next to Tora, hands open on her knees and face blank and staring with tears running down her shock-white face.

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Tole ya the next one would be out soon. Hope you enjoyed it.

Remember to send me some more characters. I haven't filled all the slots yet, but I'm getting impatient.

Peace, love, empathy DCJ


	6. Chapter Five: Rae Straus

Lick The Pavement

Chapter Five: Rae Straus

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//And I feel the innocence of a child

Everybody's got something good to say

Things I once thought

Unbelievable

In my life

Have all taken place//

Good Fortune -PJ Harvey

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Tired and crumpled from travelling, Rae Straus sighed, half at her relief to be safely home and off that plane, and half at the fact that she had had to leave Burma so soon. It had been her first visit to the home of her father and she still felt like she had gone back to her roots. 

Not that she didn't love her adoptive parents of course. They had let her travel to Burma on her on that year, as she was 18 and therefore, supposedly, old enough to travel herself. She had arranged to meet with a friend of the Straus' at the other airport, and had been perfectly fine. She was proud that she'd been able to show her parents how mature she could be... not that they doubted her in the first place, but apparently, showing your independence ran in the family.

Her mother had died in Burma, beaten to death in prison, where she had been incarcerated for treason and for supporting Aung San Suu Kyi. Her father had subsequently committed suicide, leaving the then three year old Rae with no option but to be adopted. 

Her parents had themselves suffered a tragic loss, that of their baby daughter Beth, who died through miscarriage. The union of Rae and the Straus' was what both parties needed, and Rae had grown up happy and largely unaffected by the trauma of her young years.

Rae placed her bag on the machine to be X-rayed and stepped through the metal detector without a hitch. She grabbed her bag and was about to move on when a hand descended to her shoulder.

"Could you come with us please miss?" A member of security was standing behind her, and two more were walking in her direction. She knew she hadn't done anything wrong, so didn't feel afraid, although she was slightly nervous that she would be late to meet her parents.

She asked them as she was escorted away.

"What's the problem?" 

"To be frank, we suspect that you're carrying illegal goods." The security woman told her, leading her into a small search room.

"That's ridiculous!" She stated. "I'm not carrying any- mpffh!"

She struggled as a hand wrapped around her mouth, pressing a cloth to her mouth. She smelt something sickly sweet and cloying, and tried not to breathe it in, trying to use her powers to help her. Unfortunately, as she was still new to them, and as it was fairly quiet, she couldn't utilise them. She fought, and kicked, but eventually gave in to the chloroform and blacked out.

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Next chapter will be up...uh... now!


	7. Chapter Six: Kegan McDonelly

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Chapter Six: Kegan McDonelly

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//I can't believe all the travesty surrounding me

I, I want to flee

I want to flee from everything

In front of me I 

Can't believe

Never again, trusted in you

Fuck everything that you think I should be

I stand, never again, never again //

Can't Believe -Staind

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"Aidan, lemme sleep." 

Kegan mumbled, waving a lazy hand as he felt his boyfriend, Aidan, trying to shake him awake.

"Keeg... you have to get up now."

There was something in his lover's voice that had the same effect as cold water down his spine would have had, and he sat up, naked except for the tangle of bed sheets, rubbing a hand through his icy platinum blond hair, the green tips mussed together to give it a moss-like look, which was usually sorted out after a few minutes with a mirror and some gel.

He stopped suddenly as he felt something cold and hard and NOT familiar dig into the back of his neck. He froze, aqua blue eyes freezing with questioning betrayal as he looked at Aidan and saw a man in a SWAT type uniform, complete with a face mask, standing at his side.

The man threw him a pair of jeans.

"Put 'em on son." He said.

Keegan, confused and feeling terribly vulnerable wearing absolutely nothing did as he was told.

It wasn't fair. He shouldn't have been woken up at gunpoint in his lover's bedroom, in their BED, after just having had sex. He shouldn't have been frogmarched down the hall and into a black van dressed only in his jeans. 

He shouldn't have trusted Aidan not to keep his secret when he finally found out.

Just because he was a mutant did that make him any less of a human being? Well, technically yes, but morally, it shouldn't have anything to do with him living his life.

After that fiasco in Bayville, when that institute of mutant kids was attacked and many of them killed or injured, the world had turned Nazi over the '_homo superior'_ thing. 

This didn't mean much to Keegan. He would have been persecuted even if he hadn't been a mutant, his sexual orientation made sure of that. Yes he liked girls AND boys, yes he was damn proud of it, no he wasn't going to deny anything even if it did mean being beaten bloody.

Discovering his powers only meant that he could now defend himself and his right to be who he wanted to be.

Unfortunately, now it was all working out backwards for him. 

He turned round in the restraining arms of the policemen behind him, craned his head to see Aidan standing there, wrapped in the sheets that they had been lying in together only moments before.

His composure broke for a few seconds, before they loaded him into the van.

"I trusted you Aidan! I trusted you!"

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I feel this was below my usual standards (read: crap) Sorry... I'll try harder next time.


	8. Chapter Seven: Brian Knight

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Chapter Seven: Brian Knight

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//Father's a name you haven't heard yet

You're just a child with a temper

Haven't you heard 'don't hit a lady'?

Kicking your ass would be a pleasure//

Never Again - Nickleback

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"Brian Knight, I'm arresting you in connection with the murder of your father. Come quietly and there will be no need for unnecessary violence."

Brian Knight had been living on the streets for seven days. He'd run away from home because he'd had no other choice after murdering his father. Not that the bastard hadn't deserved it.

His little brother was only young, he shouldn't have to put up with being beaten unmercilessly by the man who claimed to be his father. Things had only gotten worse after his dad had found out that Daniel was both gay and a mutant, both unforgivable offences in his eyes, despite the fact that the boy couldn't do anything about either of them... not that he would have wanted to if he could have done anyway.

His dad had been abusing his small family since Brian could remember, but recently had zeroed in on Daniel. Brian was usually able to deflect his dad's anger from Daniel to himself, as Daniel got the brunt of it anyway, but after the revelations his dad had been even more single-mindedly aggressive towards the young boy.

Things had gotten worse until one night, Brian had just had enough. His temper swelled, the lights dimmed as the electricity was drawn into ihm. his eyes went from blue to milky wihte as they glazed over with power, his hair, normally short and falling softly forward, rose intop the air and flickered to silver. He pulled his arm back and let a punch fly, for all the years that he and his mum and his younger brother had had to deal with his short-tempered father.

His dad was dead before he hit the ground.

Brian fell to the floor, his hair darkening back to its usual brown, his eyes clearing, holding a hand over his chest as it burned with pain.

His brother, eyes wide and tear filled, stared at the body of their father in shock, and his mother looked at her son with sad fear in her eyes.

Brian couldn't take it, and ran.

So there he was, stuck in an alley with the police advancing. Well fuck them if they thought he was going to be caught easily. They hadn't done anything to help his mother or his brother when his dad beat them, there was no way he was going to help them back now.

He absorbed electrical fields form every source he could find, from the neon lights of the shop fronts to the bio-electric signatures of them men in front of him. He ran forward and sent the energy through his hands to the men in front of him, felling them quickly.

He exited thealley to find two black vans, from which hordes of men clothed in a black uniform were advancing. He braced hmself, turned and lifted a car over his head, sending it flying at the thickest group of men. The vehicle crashed and crushed a lot of men beneath it. He turned to pick up a car on his other sidea as he was shot at. Luckily, his powers gave him some invulnerability against the tiny missiles, so he was able to launch the car again, this time at one of the black vans, which exploded. 

Didn't these guys know to turn the ignition off?

Well too bad for them.

He was going to pick up another car, having swept some more men away from him with one arm, when he realised his feet weren't obeying him. 

He raised a hand to his neck to feel a small dart protuding from his shoulder. Before he collapsed to the ground, his last thought was of his brother at home. 

How would he deal with hearing his brother was in prison?

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Now I have to go watch Reservoir Dogs (yay, finally). I will be posting the next chapter ASAP, and then things should be moving along pretty fast. Yes, they will all be getting together soon.


	9. Chapter Eight: Antonia Anderson

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Chapter Eight: Antonia Anderson

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//It scares the hell out of me

And the end is all I can see

And it scares the hell out of me

And the end is all I can see//

Thoughts Of A Dying Atheist - Muse

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"Leggo a'me, lemme go, ye bastids..."

Kicking and screaming, Antonia Anderson, or Tone as she was better known, was lifted bodily, arms and legs, and hurled into the side of a black van. Kidnapped and surrounded by dark clothed police, she felt her heartbeat race.

If the Irish MSDC Police hadn't been so under trained at that moment, they might have subdued her with the power-suppressant knock-out gas, but as it was, Antonia was left conscious and with her abilities, able to use them to get out of the situation.

She'd gotten INto this situation in the first place by mistake.

Playing football in the girls versus boys match at thirteen, her powers had burst from her, sending hordes of tiny spiders marching across the bleachers in response to some bystander's arachnophobia.

Now, some three years later, the MSDC had apparently tracked her down. The whole thing had been televised, yet it still couldn't have been easy to identify the girl as the cause.

She looked normal, with her average height of 5'5", her light brown hair, her heart shaped face. It was a shame that she hadn't been wearing her shades that day, so her solid black eyes had been noticeable, obviously what must have betrayed her.

So now, caught like an animal and thrown in a van, her powers once again moved through her. She focused on the driver, and there was suddenly a scream from the cab. The van's wheels screamed as the vehicle swerved crazily across the road, the bodies in the van being thrown together like dolls.

There was a screech and a bang and the last thing Tone saw was the van's back window coming closer...

She came to in a place she didn't recognise.

She felt drugged and groggy and her face hurt. She raised a hand to assess the damage and felt something thick and tacky on her face.

She glanced around the small box cell and found a mirror, suspended in the bathroom corner above a sink and a toilet. Both afforded her no privacy. It was one of those unbreakable ones, and she didn't like to think about why that would be a concern in a place like this.

She walked, trembling from shock, towards the mirror and gasped when she saw her reflection, fingers fluttering from her face to her hair.

She looked terrible. Her hair, once waist long, was now shorn to her ears. Blood marred the bottom of her face, the source a long cut across her face, cutting through her left eye and stretching to stop at her lip.

Horrified, she opened the eye that was bisected and found, to her relief, that it was undamaged.

She carefully cleaned and dried the wound, then lay down on the practical crate that was her bed.

"What will my parents be thinkin'?" She wondered, before uncharacteristically crying herself to sleep.

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Reservoir Dogs rocked, but not as much as Fight Club. Anyhue, Chapter the Ninth will be out... in a click of the next chapter button... Hooray!


	10. Chapter Nine: Lukka Miller

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Chapter Nine: Lukka Miller

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//I don't cry when the police die cause they probably deserved it

Run around with a badge and a gun and they goddamned fuck with everyone

Enforce rules, made by fools, violence and fear their tools

They dress to oppress with the laws they arrest and they leave us powerless//

Fault The Police (I Don't) - Corporate Avenger

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"I repeat, we need back up, now. All units respond, subject proving highly dangerous."

The Australian MSDC Police were having trouble with this one, and that was an understatement.

They'd been trying to subdue the mutant for the past twenty minutes, and it had already taken out twelve of their men.

Four had been thrown over the floor divider and were critically injured, seven others had been knocked out cold and one of them had been killed.

Hell, they'd already shot the nineteen year old with a power suppressant dart, and he STILL wouldn't go down.

He almost admired this kid- almost.

It was funny to think, of all the freakish powers he'd faced, of all the mutants he'd fought, the one to cause the most trouble yet had a power which basically made his hair grow. Okay, it became a super-strong vine-type WEAPON as well, but at its root, no pun intended, that was all it did. 

"We're taking this mutie down." He growled, lifting a sniper rifle and sighting.

He took aim and fired, sending a dart piercing through the boy's loose fitting jeans to pierce his leg. Someone else had obviously had the same idea, as another dart appeared, pinning his open fronted shirt to his tank top.

The power of three darts thankfully proved too much for the boy, and he finally collapsed to the ground.

The policeman breathed a sigh relief and reported back via walkie-talkie.

"Subject Zero-zero-nine-zero, Lukka Miller, finally captured. Subject is male, around nineteen and five-eight in height. Power is suppressed, but the subject must be considered as highly lethal. Restraints and on-scene power suppressant necessary. Twelve officers down, over."

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Holly, you're right, the songs ARE from the characters favourite type of music, but they also link in as much as possible to the chapter content or the character themselves.

On that note, the lyrics are the artist's opinion, not mine. I don't fault the police, cause the people that run 'em got 'em on a short leash, but I don't think they deserve to die, they're just doing their jobs, for the most part anyway.

Also, the plot should be moving along speedily now. See you later.


	11. Chapter Ten Mutant Supression And Detain...

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Chapter Ten: The Mutant Suppression and Detainment Centre

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//Trapped in a box of tremendous size

It distorts my vision, it closes my eyes

Attracts filthy flies and pollutes in the skies

It sucks up our lives and proliferates lies

Trapped in a box

Trapped in a box, four walls as sky//

Trapped In A Box – No Doubt

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Brian woke up to a cold floor beneath him and a symphony of agony ricocheting dully through his bones. 

He briefly wondered if he'd been caught by his dad during a bad mood, before remembering that he hadn't seen his dad since he'd left home.

In fact, that he'd never see his dad ever again.

He tried to sit up, and winced, pressing a hand to his ribs as they suddenly bit with sharp pains. *Maybe broken, almost definitely bruised* he thought.

He turned slowly and pulled himself painfully to his knees, and then to his feet with the help of the wall next to him. He collapsed onto the tiny board bed, which was basically a narrow box nailed to the wall on side with a thin mattress over the top, and took his bearings. 

He was in a triangular shaped room, with no windows and one solid door in the flat wall in front of him. He figured that he was in a quarter of a diagonally divided square, from the faint noises he heard to the side of him. Someone had removed his shoes, but left him in the clothes he'd been wearing before.

There was nothing else in the room except for a single toilet and a blanket over the bed.

The last thing he remembered was being cornered by some policemen... who then proceeded to take him down with some kind of drugged dart after he threw a few cars at them.

So that wasn't good. As far as he could figure, he must have been beaten while he was unconscious; some kind of retribution for injuring their team mates no doubt, and then chucked in here. 

*Shit*

He was suddenly sharply aware of the new black cuff around his wrist and knew.

He'd been caught by the MSDC police.

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Kegan paced the length of the cell, growling under his breath about what he'd like to do to double-crossing lovers.

He couldn't believe that Aidan had turned him over to the MSDC. After all they'd been through together, you would have thought he'd have been cool with it, but no, he'd been a mutant hater all along.

He seethed and raged, but it was mainly because he was scared. Uncharacteristic of him, as he was usually more stoic, but he'd heard a lot about this place on the news.

Plus, they tended to turn the lights out after a certain time in prison, and he didn't think they'd let him have a night light.

He was in a large cage more than a cell, basically nothing more than a box with one glass side and a small bathroom area, totally exposed like the rest of the room.

In one corner, a tall, long haired boy sat on a bunk, looking composed and cool, and not a little bit nervous.

Kegan looked over to him occasional, and his anger grew. How come THAT guy wasn't feeling as shocked and afraid as he was? How did he manage to keep his composure when Kegan was rapidly losing his?

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Bryn sat on the cot, terrified out of his wits.

He had no idea where he was, no idea what to expect of the next few hours and there was an increasingly feral looking boy pacing a few feet away from him. 

All in all, the massive uncertainty that he was now living in had shaken him more than his mother's slap had, and he tried to keep his mind off his impending nervous breakdown by forcing himself to keep his composure and behave like a member of the upper class should, even though he was currently in prison.

Bit by bit however, the silence, except for the soft sound of the other boy's bare feet on the concrete floor, began to get to him, and was permeating even the inner sanctum of calm provided by his mental discipline.

In short, he had to make conversation before he totally freaked out.

He cleared his throat.

"I'm Bryn Zeitsagen. Where are we?"

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Kegan stopped as the strange boy spoke, his voice sounding European, but exactly which European accent it was he couldn't quite place.

"I'm Kegan. That's all you need to call me. And we're in the mutant suppression and detainment centre, don't you watch the news?"

Bryn was affronted by the boy's rudeness, but considered that he maybe hadn't been brought up as well as Bryn himself had, and ignored it.

"I keep up to date with current affairs actually, and I haven't heard about this place before. What is it?"

Kegan sighed.

"Basically, it's a prison for us muties. Somewhere to contain us until someone comes up with a 'cure' for the mutant gene or until we stop becoming a menace to society... or until society realises it's a menace to US, whichever comes first." The sarcasm and bitterness was thick in Kegan's voice.

Bryn blinked, confused.

"Why would they want to imprison us? We haven't done anything wrong to them. Surely this can be solved diplomatically."

Kegan laughed.

"Right, sure! And maybe the police are there to 'serve and protect'. Don't bother..." He said, putting his hand up before Bryn could speak. "It's a personal grudge. Anyway, there was this incident with this 'mutant institute' in Bayville in America, led by this mutant called Charles Xavier. Mutants were exposed to humans for the first time, and they were basically massacred, all these little kids in their beds."

He stopped, soaking in the sound of silent horror and repulsion from Bryn, then continued.

"Of course, this was a few years back. After that, the government brought out the mutant suppression and detainment centre programme, or the MSDC. They employ a group of specially trained policemen to hunt down and catch mutants like you and me and keep us locked down in here. If you ask me, it's cause they're scared of us."

Bryn listened with intense concentration.

"But surely we could use our powers to break out of here?"

Kegan snorted. "Go ahead and try."

Bryn concentrated on utilising his power, looking into the future and found that he couldn't.

Kegan nodded.

"Yup. See this?" He lifted his wrist to display the black cuff. "These things stop us using our powers so we can't just snap our fingers and get out of here."

Bryn rubbed a finger over his own cuff. "Is that your power then? Teleporting?"

"Nah. My powers wouldn't be helpful for helping us walk outta here. All I can do is shut down a sense of my choice in other people. For example, I could make you go blind if I wanted to... well I could before this." He raised his arm again. "The only trouble is, I get THEIR sense as well as my own, and having more than one person's abilities in your head kinda gives a guy a headache, you know?"

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Rae came to dizzily, emerging from the black smog of unconsciousness to the garish light of reality.

After being abducted from the airport, she'd apparently come to in a large blank cell, which was spartan to the extreme. 

Her immediate thought was to worry about her parents.

How long had they waited for her after her arrival and subsequent disappearance? Would they have been told anything by her abductees? Did they think she was still in Burma, lost and alone, or still stuck at the airport?

She looked across the cell to where two other girls were talking.

One of them, an inch above her own 5'3" with black streaked blonde hair and dressed- bizarrely- in her pyjamas was talking to an older looking girl, rubbing her back and whispering soothingly to her. THIS girl had multi-coloured hair and her face was colourless. She was shivering despite the fact that the place wasn't too cold and she had two blankets over her shoulders.

She looked to be in some kind of shock, and there appeared to be what looked like blood on her blue jeans.

Lia turned as she heard the new girl stir. When Lia had entered the cell- or rather, when she had been forcibly thrown into it- the short, brown haired girl had been laying on the bunk. Like Lia, her shoes had also been removed.

Lia had crossed to the girl and checked her for injuries, and finding none had decided that she'd probably been chloroformed and would likely been fine.

She sat huddled on her own bunk until she saw the guards approaching again with a girl moving robotically between them. She was also pushed in and she stumbled and fell, not moving from the floor where she landed on her hands and knees.

Lia watched to see if she got up, and approached her when she didn't.

"Hey, I'm Lia. Are…are you okay? Can you stand up?"

The girl sitting on the floor kept shivering, but was able to talk.

"L-liz. M-my name is Liz." She stammered out between chattering teeth.

Lia, concerned about the girl's health, grabbed a blanket from her bed, and the extra bunk and covered the girl's shoulders with them.

"Are you alright? Those bastards didn't do anything to you did they?"

Liz continued to shiver and said nothing. Lia noticed the clotting blood on the other girl's jeans.

"Are you injured anywhere? Whose blood is this, is it yours?"

Liz shook her head. 

"M-my friend, my best friend was stabbed… I- I killed her killer... I killed him…"

Lia was almost certain that the girl was in shock, and turned when she heard the previously unconscious girl stirring.

"Hey." She called. "I'm Lia, and this is Liz. Who're you?"

"I'm Rae. Where are we?"

Lia stood up.

"We're in the MSDC. You know what that is right?"

Rae nodded, her heart sinking. She'd never see her parents again. She'd probably die in here.

Lia motivated her a bit.

"Can you help me get Liz up onto her bunk? She's kinda badly in shock."

Rae nodded, and pulled the older girl's arm around her shoulders, Lia taking the other one. Although there was quite a height difference, they managed to get Liz onto the bed, where she curled into a foetal position and fell asleep.

Rae looked at Lia, green eyes huge.

"What do we do now?"

Lia crawled onto her own bed.

"Now we stick together and try to see if we can't escape this modern day concentration camp."

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Holly Rose splinted the tall boy's broken arm, occasionally absentmindedly running a hand through the glorious mass of fiery red hair that he had.

Although this boy was a mutant, and although she usually despised their kind, she found herself with a soft spot for this one, probably because he looked a lot like her own son back home, who would never let her stroke his hair.

She guessed that happened after they reached a certain age. However, she would allow herself this small motherly instinct while the nineteen year old on the bunk was unconscious.

The subdue-and-capture squad had beaten the boy badly after they had downed him, revenge for killing a lot of their friends. He was lucky that the broken ribs he had hadn't penetrated his lungs. She'd been allowed to give him medical attention only because he looked like he would make for a strong test subject in the future.

With this thought in mind, Holly finished off the splint and packed her kit away, cleaning up and then leaving the solitary confinement cell.

It wouldn't do to get attached to a mutant after all.

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Tone had been in solitary for two days now, and the boredom was making her crazy She paced the length of the cell day after day, the only break from he routine being the tray of food that was pushed into her cell from beneath the door every once and awhile.

For someone who had been used to running around and playing football a lot, she was getting extremely frustrated at her lack of exercise, and was beginning to feel unhealthy.

At that point, the door actually opened, and a woman walked in, dressed in a lab coat and carrying a clipboard.

"Subject FP-16-I, AKA Antonia Anderson, please follow me."

Scared, but not about to say anything to this woman, Tone followed her past a few more blank doors and through a pair of double doors to a corridor where she was taken down past a row of glass fronted rooms.

She saw a couple of boys in one of the rooms, and they looked at her with interest as she passed.

*Prolly as bored as I was.* She thought.

They stopped outside another glass fronted box, and she was pushed in.

She stumbled, but didn't fall, and turning, raised a fist to the woman's retreating back.

"Y'know, you people are depriving whole COUNTRIES of villages of their idiots!"

She heard laughter from behind her and turned, facing three other girls, one of which appeared to be asleep.

She leant back against the wall and grinned.

"So, I'm Tone. I'm guessing you're also part of the mutant hamster cage party?"

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Gabriel lay on his bunk in a ball, shivering all over, eyes closed.

There was nothing comparable to the pain of heroin withdrawal, even with the methadone that the god damned sadists had eventually allowed him to have, after he'd screamed and cursed and thrown himself against the walls until he'd knocked himself out.

He ended up in solitary after he attacked some of the officers who had come in to administer the methadone.

He'd bitten two of them, one in the throat, and had all out fought against all of them until he was subdued through the same spray that they had used on him before.

He was going slowly crazy in the small space, and nightmares chased him through his unstable periods of half-caught sleep.

It wasn't enough that they'd had to take his blood, check through his personal records, take him off the heroin, put him through intensive psychiatric screening, no. They'd had to, what was it they'd said? 'Show him what his T-shirt was really saying about him'? That guy had been a real moron. 

One thing was certain, when he got out of here, and he would, he'd be the first to go.

He rubbed at the cuff around his wrist, already raw and bleeding from the times he had tried to pull it off, to no avail, tried his best to ignore the seething agony rising through him from EVERYWHERE, and tried to get back to sleep.

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In my opinion, this chapter wasn't very good, but I have got a viral infection so, I guess it can be excused. 

Holly, did you like your cameo? ^___^

Of anyone's got any comments, please let me know. Also, pairings wise. I have the list written down, but I'd like you to tell me who you see your character together with, although I can't promise I'll change what I've already got, cause the dynamic with those characters works really well at the moment.

But yea, I leave you with this.

Min-kat-  Please update. Your pictures rock by the way.

Ultramatt- Sorry that Bri's bro isn't in this, but he was superfluous to requirements.

DarkPrincessPyro- please update.

Luff you all my darlings.

DCJ


	12. Chapter Eleven: Escape

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Chapter Eleven: Escape

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//How are you so burned when you're barely on fire?

Cry to the angels

I'm gonna rescue you

I'm gonna set you free tonight //

Malibu– Hole

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Scott sighed and gave Jean a half-hearted smile as he waited for the rest of their tiny group to stop arguing and listen to him.

He'd rinsed through the masses of data on the disk and had printed off the information that would help them in their upcoming rescue mission. There were plans of the prison, guard duty rotas, access codes and short profiles about each of the kids they were going to try and save.

After he had waited ten minutes and the noise STILL hadn't stopped, Scott stood and stared them down.

"Look guys, can we please concentrate here? The lives of these kids are at stake, the longer we take to break them out, the longer they're stuck in there for."

Logan, who was sitting opposite Scott at one end of the oval able, crossed his arms and put his feet on the table, in his classic defensive posture, but agreed to stop arguing. As usual, he hadn't changed much since the battle at the Institute; he was still sullen, gruff and aggressive, but seemed to have grown even more depressed than usual. It wasn't surprising really. Not only had he been absent during the attack which had cost the Institute the lives of practically all who were sleeping there, he had also lost Xavier, his oldest and dearest friend.

He seemed to have no problems in deferring to Scott in matters such as these however, probably because he had since lost a lot of confidence in himself.

The other partner in the arguing was an unlikely face to be seen at the same table as Scott and Logan. Lance had also suffered losses that day. The same group who had attacked and killed the children in the Institute had also taken out the Brotherhood members as well. 

Everyone except Lance himself, who had been out on a date at the time, had been killed. He'd come back home to find the place on fire, and had run in, despite the flames, searching frantically for anyone left alive.

But there'd been no one. 

As the only survivor, he had put the petty team rivalries behind him and had teamed up with the remaining X-Men members to try and put things back together again with a new generation.

The last person at the table was Jean. Jean was still tall, still red haired and elegant. She'd matured a lot since the attack, and didn't remember who she had escaped, having lost her memory of that part of that night. She still remembered the screams of the others in her head as they had been killed though.

She rationalised that the only thing that stopped her going mad had been Xavier's voice in her head, soothing her and telling her that it wasn't her fault, gentle and kind even as he died.

For all his power, he had still only been a frail old man at the end.

But the past was the past.

Scott sat back down.

"Thanks."

Of the four survivors, Scott had changed the most physically. He'd been hit full in the face by friendly fire- unsure whether it had been his own optic blast or something else. The laser had blinded him for a full month afterwards, and they had all assumed hat his sight was gone for good. As it was, once the injury had healed, Scott had found that the blast had actually helped him, giving him control of his powers. 

His eyes now glowed an eerie red all the time, but at least he was able to walk around without glasses, free from fear that they'd slip off and cause him to accidentally incinerate the nearest object.

"Okay guys, we have a grand total of nine prisoners, all of whom we are going to rescue. If we leave one behind, we don't come back here till they're got as well, understood?"

The table nodded.

"Great. Okay. Here's what we do. We have about four prisoners in solitary. You can see who they are on the sheets. I'll give you a second to read through."

The front sheet had a blueprint of the prison, with the prisoners locations highlighted, and the positions of guards plotted.

The second sheet went into short detail about the prisoners.

1.

Name: Liz Blake

Sex: Female

Age: 23

Appearance: Dark green eyes, black hair with blue highlights and a red streaked fringe, down to mid-back, wearing a black tank top and baggy jeans, height- 5'6"

Power: Red ice- highly lethal

Current Position: Communal cell; female wing

2.

Name: Rae Straus

Sex: Female

Age: 18

Appearance: Green eyes, wavy short hair, black, red streaked, wearing old jeans, fingerless gloves, a scarf, and a dark green hoodie with a jacket, height- 5'3"

Power: Can direct noise frequency as force- use caution

Current Position: Communal cell; female wing

3.

Name: Lukka Miller

Sex: Male

Age: 19

Appearance: Light hazel eyes, yellow pupil, fiery red hair, shoulder blade length, wearing loose jeans, tank top and open shirt, height- 5'8"

Power: Hair manipulation- use caution

Current Position: Solitary; male wing

4.

Name: Gabriel Devitt

Sex: Male

Age: 15

Appearance: Left eye is grey, right is amber, matte black hair, long to below his ears, black trousers, short belly top reading Rent Boy, mesh top, height- 5'3"

Power: Can use emotional energy as a force – use caution

Current Position: Solitary; male wing

5.

Name: Mae Lumbargh

Sex: Female

Age: 17

Appearance: Hazel eyes, blonde hair with black streaks, waist length, wearing blue silk moon and star pyjama bottoms with a white thin strap tank top, height- 5'4"

Power: Immobilising dust- incapacitating

Current Position: Communal cell; female wing

6.

Name: Kegan McDonell

Sex: Male

Age: 17

Appearance: Aqua blue eyes, platinum blond hair with green tips, wearing nothing but trousers, height - 5'9"

Power: Can defect others senses- Incapacitating

Current Position: Communal cell; male wing

7.

Name: Brian Knight

Sex: Male

Age: 17

Appearance: Blue eyes, short brown hair, wearing jeans, grey long sleeved under shirt, blue short sleeved over shirt, height- 5'7"

Power: Superhuman speed and strength- highly dangerous

Current Position: Solitary; male wing

8.

Name: Antonia Anderson

Sex: Female

Age: 16

Appearance: solid black eyes, light brown hair, short, to her ears, wearing jeans, blue Nike T-shirt, black gloves, height- 5'5"

Power: Can bring fears to life- highly distracting, psychologically damaging

Current Position: Solitary; female wing

9.

Name: Bryn Zeitsagen

Sex: Male

Age: 19

Appearance: pastel powder blue eyes, dusky light brown long hair, wearing a black trouser suit, no tie, white shirt, height- 6'0"

Power: Time manipulation and clairvoyance- keep alert

Current Position: Communal cell; male wing

"We have four girls and five guys, with two separate wings for each sex. This means, we have to get four people out of four separate cells, one of which is in the female wing, and then we have two boys in the male wing and thee girls in the female wing. We have to get in there, rescue the kids, and destroy the place before leaving, all before someone finds out.

We have the element of surprise on our side as it is… they aren't expecting an attack from us, or, they shouldn't be if Logan was discreet about stealing those files."

Logan growled.

"Look bub, you told me to get the files, I got the files. No one knew I got the files, and anyone who mighta done has been dealt with. Okay?"

Scott smirked.

"Now Jean… I want you to tell all the kids telepathically what's going on, and prepare them to get out. We need them to move quickly if we're gonna avoid recapture. None of them are going to be able to use their powers cause of those power suppressant cuffs. If they have any natural abilities that'll help us, they can use 'em. If they don't, then I DON'T want them doing anything that'll put them or us in danger, okay? I don't want heroes in this mission, I want a result.

What I wanna do is give three of us a group of prisoners each. Lance, you're not going to have a group, I want you doing destruction on this one, okay?"

Lance nodded laconically.

"Logan, you're going to take the three guys in solitary. You can cut the door apart; it's not made of anything stronger than cement. As soon as they're free, I want you to fight your way through and get the hell outta there. No stalling okay? Jean, I want you to unlock the door of the girl in solitary, and get her out. Then, I want you to bust out the girls in the communal cell and meet me in this corridor. I'll be breaking the boys in the communal cell out and then making my way to the meeting point. Then, I'll take the two guys from that cell, you'll take the girls, and we'll break out through the roof. You think you can levitate us long enough to get out of range of their guards and to the jet?"

Jean nodded. "Sure Scott." Her powers had become almost stronger than Xavier's in the few years they had been without him. She'd been practising in case a tragedy like the Institute ever happened again.

"Alright. Lance, we're gonna leave you outside the walls. As soon as I give you the signal, start with the quaking and bring the place down. Logan, you're gonna leave your group with me and Jean and pick off anyone who looks like causing trouble. We'll wait for you above the prison in the jet, and Jean'll lift you up once the place starts coming down. Is everyone okay with that?"

There was a collective agreement, and Scott sighed.

"Great. We move out in two hours, everyone get ready."

The room emptied except for Lance. Scott looked at him suspiciously.

"What?"

Lance shook his head. 

"Nothing. I'm just wondering how much you've put into this mission. You know we might lose everyone if it doesn't go well. You sure you can deal with it?"

Scott sank down into his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"We have to try Lance. If we might be able to save those nine kids, we have to try. It's what Xavier would have wanted."

Lance just watched him for a minute, then walked over and stood behind him, rubbing his shoulders.

I just don't wanna see you break down again." He confessed, and Scott grabbed his hands and pulled him down so that his arms were looping Scott's neck.

"I know, thanks babe." Scott grinned, and kissed his boyfriend on the cheek.

Lance sighed and buried his head in Scott's hair, now almost as long as his own shoulder length tresses.

"I guess we'd better get ready then?" He said, not making a move.

Scott laughed. "As soon as you let me up, yea, we will."

Lance snorted and did so, following Scott out of the room to get ready for the mission.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The four girls had finally settled down, with Liz overcoming her shock later that night. 

She'd been shaky for a while, but was now fine and even beginning to take on a protective older-sister role with the three younger mutants in her cell.

Tone had told them all about the solitary cells, with their tiny triangular shaped spaces and their total lack of anything, and they all agreed that they should try to get out of this place as soon as possible. 

It didn't help that they couldn't use their powers. Each of them had tried to deactivate the cuffs somehow, with no luck whatsoever. 

Their thoughts had no turned to breaking out of the cell itself, a difficult problem considering they had no powers to help them and that guards patrolled the corridor every half an hour.

They were sitting around miserably re-accounting the lack of success they had each had in trying to remove the cuffs, when Lia gave a little yelp and jumped up.

"What was that?"

Liz, confused as the others were, asked the question.

"What was what?"

Lia turned to the others, looking slightly worried.

"You didn't hear that voice?"

Liz and Tone shook their heads, but Rae squeaked and nearly fell over.

"I-I heard it too!"

Liz and Tone were just starting to get worried when they also heard the smooth female voice in their heads.

*I'm sorry about startling you, but I thought it would be better to talk to you all gradually. Don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you, I want to help you. My name is Jean Grey and I'm a telepath, a mutant just like you.*

Liz felt surprise.

"Jean Grey?" She said, out loud for the benefit of the others. "The Bayville Jean Grey?"

*That's me.* The voice came back. *I've got good news for you. Some friends and I are going to try and break you out.*

Tone punched the air whooping, Liz looked stunned and Rae and Lia hugged each other.

"We're finally getting out of this hell hole!"

Jean had to calm them down before a guard noticed something.

*Guys sit down and keep calm for a minute, this is important.*

They did as she told them and waited for her to continue.

*Now, I thought there was only supposed to be three of you in here. Who's in solitary?*

"That was me." Tone spoke up. "I was let out yesterday evening."

*Okay. Give me a second.*

Jean's presence disappeared, but came back just as quickly as it had gone.

*Okay, there's no problem. Now, you guys sit tight. I'm gonna come down there and unlock the door, and we're gonna walk as quietly as we can to meet my friend Scott, who's helping us. Okay?*

"What do you look like, so we know who you are?" Rae asked timidly.

Jean mentally laughed. *Sorry. I've got red hair and I'm quite tall. I'll be wearing all black except for a jade 'X' on my shoulder okay? You'll know it's me anyway. There's Scott, you'll be able to tell him by the glowing red eyes, and Logan. He's kinda short but gruff and he might have his claws out, but don't be afraid okay. He's on our side. Here's also Lance, he's got long dark brown hair, but you probably won't be seeing him.* With each verbal description, she sent the girls a mental picture as well, so they'd know who to trust if things got hectic.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*Scot, we already have a glitch. One of the girls you said was in solitary isn't. She's in the communal with the others, I'm headed down there now.*

*That's okay Jean, as long as you've got it handled.* Scott thought back.

He made his way to the boys' communal area and saw the two guys seated in there. He guessed that this was Bryn and Kegan, from their descriptions, and tapped on the glass.

"Hey. Bryn, Kegan."

Kegan looked round and Bryn lifted an eyebrow.

"Do we know you?" He asked.

"Don't bother with him Bryn." Kegan argued. "You know he's just another guard trying to mess with us 'muties'."

Scott shook his head. 

"I'm not I promise." With no forthcoming agreement from the boys, Scott tried again. "Look, would a mutant hater have eyes like mine?"

Bryn came up to the glass front and looked closer.

"He's right Kegan. He must be a mutant with those eyes. I think he's telling the truth."

Kegan also came nearer the glass, and inspected Scott carefully.

"I guess." He said. "What are you doing here anyway? You're gonna get captured if the guards see you."

Scott grinned. 

"I don't think so. Stand back."

The boy's had a split second to jump back away from the glass as Scott hit it with his powers and watched as it slowly melted away under the force of his lasers.

When a large enough hole had been burnt through, Scott beckoned the boys on.

"Come on, we gotta go quick."

Without another option, Kegan and Bryn did as they were told.

They turned a corner and came face to face with a guard, who stood, mouth open.

Before anyone could speak, Kegan held his hands together and clocked the guy across the face, cuffed wrist first. The guard dropped like a sack of cement.

"Ouch." Kegan yelped, rubbing his hand, but grinning. "That'll teach you to turn off the lights, after I asked you NICELY to leave 'em on."

Scott gave Bryn a questioning look.

Bryn shook his head. "I wouldn't ask."

Scott shrugged, then started forward.

"Come on guys."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Wolverine growled as he cut through yet another empty solitary cell.

He spoke into the communicator.

Red, where the hell are these kids? I've been looking forever, and I can't smell them through the walls. 

Jean responded telepathically.

*Go past three more doors, and then you have them. All three of them are in consecutive cells. Good luck.*

Wolverine grumbled as he stormed past three more doors, as Jean had told him too, then broke through the fourth one.

"Kid?" He looked round and saw one of the boys lying on his bunk. He wasn't moving, so Logan went over to him and checked his life signs. 

He clicked on his comm.

Scott. One of these kids, it's the red haired one, he's unconscious but breathing. 

Can you manage to carry him over your shoulder? I wanna get all of them out. If it's a problem we can… 

Logan cut him off.

No, no, I can manage it. Logan out. 

He gingerly lifted the boy, who made no sound, and gently hefted him across his shoulder, where he lay passively.

He went to the next cell, quickly and efficiently, and did the same to this cell as he did to the last.

"Hey, are you Brian or Gabriel?" He was pretty sure the boy over his shoulder was Lukka with the hair.

Brian sat up, confused.

"I'm Brian. What's going on?"

"It's a bust-out kid, come on." Logan said, already moving off. 

Brian picked himself up and followed, grateful to be out of there, but giving this strange man with a boy over his shoulder some space. Who knew who he was?

Logan seemed to sense this and turned round.

"I picked this kid up from next door, you know him?"

Brian shook his head.

"Yea, well, just keep up okay. We have to meet with some other guys and get the hell outta here."

Logan stopped to cut through the next cell, and almost dropped Lukka as the inhabitant jumped on him.

He lifted an arm and blocked, sending the boy bouncing harmlessly off.

"Gabriel, right?" He said dryly.

Gabriel snarled at him. "Fuck off."

Logan stepped back, already deciding to get a move on to the meeting spot.

"Hey kid, stay here or leave with us, your choice."

Gabriel watched him leave warily, and saw Brian pass by a few minutes later.

He looked round, unsure of himself, and then followed them.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jean and Scott met in the proposed corridor with their separate groups, the prisoners standing together, the girls and the boys eyeing each other warily.

"Jean?"

Jean concentrated, hands at her temples, and the group gave a collective little scream as they were suddenly lifted up and towards the roof. The roof opened out like an exploding chrysanthemum above them and they lifted out to stand on top of it.

"Wait here guys." Jean told her group and then used her powers to fly towards where they had left the new jet, christened the 'Phoenix'.

Eventually, the group were settled and buckled in, with Scott at the controls. The poor kids were all confused and silent, half due to necessity, because Jean had told them to ask questions later, and half because they were seated in an above top-of-the-range fighter jet.

Jean stood near the hole in the ceiling, waiting for Wolverine to show.

"Come on Logan." She said to herself. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sirens were blaring now, and Logan ran as fast as he could without dropping his passenger or losing his other two charges.

He made it to the meeting point and turned, waiting for them.

"Logan!"

He looked up and saw Jean, and lifted the boy towards her.

"Red, take this one up first, he's badly injured and still unconscious."

She did so, lifting him up and leaving him with Liz, who, as the oldest, was asked to settle him into one of the stretchers at the back.

Logan turned to see guards coming towards the three from the corridor, firing bullets at them.

"Jean, we need a shield here."

"I'm doing my best Logan." She retorted. After Lukka was safe, she turned her attention to the other three, coming down tot heir level and erecting a shield.

As she prepared to levitate them, three soldiers managed to break through.

Logan dispatched of two easily, and the other faced down Gabriel and Brian.

Brian punched out for the guards head, hitting his arm and flinging the gun from his grasp. The guard kicked Brian in the ribs, and pain blossomed in them, sending the boy to his knees.

The guard laughed, and raised a foot to kick him again, when he was suddenly pushed over on top of Brian, who quickly pushed him off, ending up covered in the man's blood.

Gabriel stood behind the guy, shaking slightly, white as a sheet but grinning.

"Teach you to go round raping little boys." He laughed.

Logan reached them and helped Brian, who had now also passed out from the pure agony from his ribs. Gabriel dropped the smoking gun and helped, pulling an arm over his shoulders.

"Jean, now."

Jean levitated the small group above the guards, who still shot futilely at them, and managed to deposit them in the jet.

Scott used the Phoenix's communicator.

You know what to do baby. 

Lance received the message and, laughing, dug his heels into the ground and shook the foundations of the building.

The teens heard the guards still inside the building screaming as the walls and ceilings collapsed in on them... but not one of them found any sympathy for any of them.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Crap as usual. Yea… so, did anyone else know that Scott and Lance were gonna be a couple? The next chapter will be slower. I might concentrate on only a few characters and then do the other few in the next chapter, but I might not. Depends on how much time I have.

But yea, see you soon…

If I haven't DIED of this dumb VIRAL infection by then.

Love, peace, empathy, DCJ.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Adjustment and Recovery

Lick The Pavement

Chapter Twelve: Adjustment and Recovery

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

//Whenever I'm alone with you 

You make me feel like I am home again

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am whole again//

Lovesong- The Cure

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jean sighed, rubbing her tired eyes with one hand, and flopped gracelessly onto the large armchair in what was serving as their lounge.

Scott was sitting on the other armchair.

"Rough time?" He asked, as he ran his hands across Lance's shoulders, massaging out the tension. Lance, who was sitting between Scott's legs, arms on his knees, groaned pleasurably as his shoulders were rubbed, and practically purred.

Jean sighed.

"You have no idea. How come you and Lance got to bunk off putting those kids to bed?"

"Easy Red." Lance grinned, eyes still closed, concentrating on Scott's hands. "You don't give massages like Scott does."

Jean snorted and Scott actually giggled, smacking his lover across the back of the head gently.

"You moron." He told Lance. "Easy Jean. I masterminded the whole thing, Lance took a beating bringing the house down, now it's you and Logan's turn to do something."

Jean cocked her head at him.

"You mean you're too lazy and too comfortable where you are right now to get off your butt." She said dryly.

Scott laughed. "Pretty much yea."

Jean sighed. "Well, you weren't missing anything."

"Problems?" Scott asked, half-serious.

"Well, some of the kids are still in the infirmary. They're all asleep right now though, they were all pretty exhausted. That boy with the long red hair, Lukka? He was the worst. His injuries were extensive, although it looked like someone had given him a little bit of medical attention before leaving him in that freezing cell. A few broken ribs, numerous contusions, bruises, major and minor cuts. Someone whaled the tar out of him."

Lance broke in. "Probably those bastard guards at that place."

Scott nodded and Jean carried on.

"It looks that way. He's got boot-shaped bruises all over him. Some of his injuries were infected and he was running a pretty high fever. We put him on antibiotics and Logan is keeping an eye on him. He still hasn't woken up though, which is vaguely worrying.

 That Brian kid isn't doing too well either. He's alright in terms of infection, but he's in a lot of pain. His ribs were cracked too, but that last guard back there broke them with that kick. We're lucky he didn't puncture something. Anyway, we wrapped them for him and gave him something for the pain."

"Personality wise, what is he like?" Scott asked.

Jean thought back.

"He seems very quiet, very mature for his age. We didn't really talk much, but from what I've seen he seems like he's been through a lot. Most of those kids do actually, never mind that prison."

"How long can we expect them to be in the infirmary for?"

"I don't know. It depends if one of these guys has some kind of healing power or something. It could be anything from a few weeks to a few months, so I'm not expecting Logan to do any training with them."

"Ok. Who else is in the infirmary?"

"Well… one of the girls, Tone, had a pretty nasty cut across her face which was also infected. We cleaned it out and stitched it for her, but she might have a nasty scar there. The oldest girl is Liz Blake. She was apparently in shock before we reached them, but she's settled down a lot know, and she's been really helpful in keeping the younger girls together. She looks like she could be a real help to us once she settles in."

"Were you having problems with the other girls then?" Scott asked.

"Not really. They were just a bit shaken, especially after all the excitement of being broken out of that place so fast. We gave everybody some hot milk and something to help them sleep, so most of them are doing alright."

Jean was quiet for a minute, tilting her head and un-focusing. She snapped back to attention a few minutes after.

"Yep, everyone's fine."

She didn't mention to the other two guys that Kegan had freaked out until she had told him that he could have a light on. It was his secret to tell if he wanted to.

"I put the girls in a room together, except for Rae, who wanted her own space. I offered Liz her own room as well, but she opted to stay with the younger girls."

"How are the others?"

"Well, Bryn and Kegan have their own rooms. Bryn's really sweet, a real gentleman. He told me he'd been betrayed by his maid Rosa, so he won't be going back home, the MDSC know where he is now."

"That's what I was gonna ask." Lance sat up, dislodging Scott's hands. "Are we keeping them all here or are some of them going back?"

Scott took that one. "We'll talk about it with them in the morning babe. Now get your ass back here, you were keeping my feet warm."

Lance stuck his tongue out at Scott playfully, but sat back down. Scott moved his hands from Lance's shoulders to his head, and combed through his hair lovingly.

"Anyway..." Jean continued. "We were having some trouble with Gabriel. You guys probably know that some of the guards there… uhm... molested him while he was there. We tried to get near him to check out his injuries, but he freaked. He wouldn't let Logan anywhere near him and he got so wound up I couldn't control him either. In the end I had to hold him down with my telepathy and then sedate him chemically.

He had massive internal injuries, but not all of the… damage… seemed new. He had quite a bad infection coming on as well, so we've given him antibiotics and something to knock him out. It looked like he tried to chew that cuff off as well; his wrist had teeth shaped chunks out of it."

Scott looked concerned. "He doesn't sound…"

Jean cut in. "Sane? I know. I didn't go near his mind in case he's contagious or something. Hopefully he'll be better when he wakes up away from Logan tomorrow. But I think we have to keep an eye on him… he seems unbalanced, and if he turns out to be a danger to the others we might have to… well… send him elsewhere."

Lance winced. "Surely we could…" He trailed off, then looked up at Scott for help.

Scott shrugged sadly. "It's difficult to say this Lance but Jean's right. We won't have any other choice." After a long silence Scott squeezed Lance's shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, you never know. He might be as right as rain tomorrow."

Lance grunted, but his face was still dark. Jean sighed and stood up, stretching.

"Well, it's been a hard day and I'm off to bed; night guys."

Lance and Scott called goodnight to Jean in unison, then stayed, staring at the fire for a while. Finally, Lance tilted his head back onto Scott's knee.

"You know I love you right?" He said softly. 

Scott smiled down at him, then bent to give him a kiss. 

"I know." 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Meh… I had this typed up, but then I LOST IT, so had to type it up all over again. Kinda annoying. 

But yea, here it is. 

Please email me you guys… I get sad and lonely otherwise. Pairing ideas, helpful criticism, anything you want your chara to say or do or ANYTHING, please mail me. 

Love you all…

DCJ


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Damage Control

Lick The Pavement

Chapter Thirteen: Damage Control

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

//I'm glad that you're near

And I'm sad when you're here

This is what it's like to be me

I'm glad that you're here

And I'm sad that you're near

This is what it's like to die alone.

This all hurts me so much

That I honestly believe

You're the one this is hard for

I've bartered tact for wit

And I've already made up

A billion stories about you.

Knee deep in static

I hear you breaking up

I'm breaking up//

When One Eight Becomes Two Zeros- Glassjaw

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Brian shifted uneasily in his seat, partly because of the pain of his ribs, partly because he'd never been very good in social situations.

There were three strangers sat in front of him, people who he only recognised from the rescue attempt the other night.

There was the tall willowy red head with the slim figure and strangely penetrating yet reassuring green eyes. He remembered that she had some kind of telepathic, telekinetic power and her name was... Jenny? Jane? Something like that anyway.

There was one boy sitting in an armchair. He seemed to be slightly taller than the red-head, with medium brown hair styled after a mullet fashion, and bizarrely glowing red eyes, like embers.

There was another boy sitting on the arm of the chair, his arm laid across the back of the seat, head resting on his arm. His hair was a darker, earthier brown and long at the back. He had dark eyes and an altogether more rugged look to him than the other two, who practically screamed prep.

Despite this difference in image, the close proximity of the two, and the way the boy in the chair had his hand resting against the other boy's thigh was enough to let Brian know that those two were more than just friends.

This only served to remind him of his little brother, and the pang that that thought sent through him ached more than his ribs ever could.

Jean smiled at the nervous looking boy.

"Hey, you're Brian right?" He nodded. "I'm Jean, this is Scott…" Scott smiled and nodded. "…and Lance" Lance raised a hand in a lazy way.

"First of all, how are your ribs feeling?" She asked.

Brian held a hand to them.

"They hurt, but it's nothing I can't handle." He said.

*It's nothing I haven't handled before.* He thought.

Jean raised an eyebrow as she caught this thought, but said nothing.

"No offence," Brian started. "But what is this meeting all about?"

Scott fielded the question.

"Well, basically, we know that some of you are having problems with what's happened to you. We just wanna find out what kind of state your mind's are in right now, if you need or want any help, or just someone to talk to."

Brian had had a moment of cold shock when Scott referred to 'what had happened' to them, but calmed down fast when he realised that Scott meant their capture by the MSDC, and not the death of his bastard father.

"Plus, we wanna get to know you, and vice-versa."

Brian was slightly suspicious.

"What do you want to know?"

"Well… how old are you?"

"Seventeen, you?"

"Jean is twenty-three just turned. Lance and I are both twenty-two."

Lance blinked. The boy seemed much older than seventeen. Having said that, no one had believed that he was ever that age when he'd been seventeen. He'd just seemed to go from a quiet nine year old to a quiet nineteen year old. He wondered briefly what it was that had made this boy grow up so fast.

"This is our house in Statsville. It's just me and Jean and Lance, and the other kids now. Oh, and Logan… he's the guy with the claws…"

"Who rescued me, yea, I remember." 

He vaguely reminded Brian of his dad. He had the same stature and the same air of danger, but where his dad's had been all out random anger, this was a more contained, more instinctual, naturalistic aggression, like a caged panther or something.

Jean built up a picture of Brian in her head as they chatted; enhancing what she was seeing with the odd thoughts she caught from the boy's head.

To her, Brian was a very guarded and hesitant boy, very mature for someone his age, and polite and almost deferential with it. He seemed to have some issues with his father from before, but jumped off those thoughts almost as soon as he'd had them, his mind skirting around the memories. 

She was sure that, once he'd settled into the team, he'd make a natural leader; someone who would be looked up to by the others through his sheer maturity and the obvious protective streak in him.

"Do you have anyone back home who might want to know your safe here with us?"

Brian paused, and Jean felt a wave of hurt come from him.

"My brother." He said quietly. "My mom might as well, but I need to get word to my brother. He'll be worried about me; he won't know what's happened."

Lance actually stood and walked over to Brian, putting a hand on his shoulder hesitantly.

"You care about him a lot huh?" He said softly, and Brian nodded.

"You're going to be able to write to him, and phone him if you want. We haven't got a phone line installed yet, but as soon as we do, you can make a call, okay? I might even see if we can make a trip into town and use a phone box, but we have to lie low until we know the MSDC in that area is gone for good."

"Okay." Brian said quietly, thoughts of his Danny going through his head. The last time he'd seen him, he'd just killed their dad. Oh God…

Jean started as she caught that. She knew now that there were some serious issues in this boy's head, and she made a mental note to talk them over with him. But she'd give it a few days first, in case he came to her. She didn't really want to pry where she wasn't wanted, but she didn't want this eating him up inside either.

"Well," Scott said. "It's getting on a bit and we still have to talk to the rest of the kids. Do you know any of them?" 

"No." Brian said. "I went straight into solitary; I don't know any of them really. I only know Lukka, he's still unconscious, and Gabriel… but I haven't talked to either of them properly."

"OK. Can you ask the next kid you see to come up and see us next?"

"Sure." Brian said, getting up and leaving the room.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"What did you think of him Jean?" Scott asked the red head curiously, Lance going over to sit on the arm of the chair again.

Jean sighed heavily.

"He's got a lot of issues to work out." She said. "He should make a good leader for a small team though. He seems reliable and mature enough for that kind of responsibility."

"We have to let him get word to his brother." Lance butted in. "He got really worked up about that, did you pick that up to?"

"Yes, I did." She replied.

Scott gave Lance a look. "Why are you so concerned about that Lance?"

"I know how he feels." Lance said simply. "Him and his brother's like… well, like me and the Brotherhood. We have responsibilities…"

Lance trailed off, looking at the floor, and felt Scott squeeze his fingers. He looked up and Scott smiled at him, giving him a gentle kiss.

Lance smiled sadly.

"Thanks babe, I'm sorry." 

"No problem." Scott replied.

Jean sat up. 

"Here's the next one, stop lip-locking you two."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Brian sighed as he made his way to the main infirmary, wincing as his ribs twinged.

"I wish my power was healing." He muttered to himself, unhappy about being under one hundred per cent. 

He pushed the door open and ducked in time to avoid a tiny ball of light that flew at his head. He stuck his head back in.

"Oi! Peace, it's me!"

The boy on the bed, Gabriel, laughed apologetically.

"Sorry, didn't know it was you. It wouldn't have hurt you anyway… I think."

Brian didn't like the sound of that, but his curiosity overcame his offence.

"What did you do?" He asked.

The little Brit held one hand palm down above the other and, slowly, tiny lighting bolts began to strike from the top to the bottom. He concentrated a bit and they started to form a shape… a dancing girl. The boy brought his hands together with a pop and the show stopped.

"This is a hospital right? There's a lot of… 'healing energy' flying around, storing up in here. I just used some of that."

Brian went and sat on the end of the boy's bed.

"So, you can what…?"

"Manipulate energy. Only emotional stuff though, I can't, like, drain power lines or anything…" he seemed to drift off for a second. "… that'd be cool."

"Right…." Brian said slowly, keeping a war eye on the other kid. "Okay then. My names Brian, who're you?"

The boy grinned like a pumpkin. "Gabriel Devitt, but you can call me Devi, I HATE my first name." He looked curiously at the bandages around Brian's ribs.

"You injured?" He asked.

"Yea, pretty badly. I cracked a few ribs before, but that guard guy broke them when he kicked me." He remembered that Gabriel had shot that man, and what he'd said after…

"Are you alright?" He asked tentatively.

Devil's eyes clouded briefly as his expression turned cold, but thawed out again in a matter of minutes.

"I'm fine; I healed myself when I woke up."

Brian's eyes lit up. "You can do that?"

Gabe shrugged.

"Sometimes. Depends on where I am, what kinda energy I can use. Cause this is a hospital, it's got healing energy, like I said before, so I just use that to speed up the healing. It's just what your body does anyway, only faster." He paused for a minute. "Do you want me to heal your ribs for you?"

Brian almost screamed with happiness. 

"Yea, uh, sure, if it's ok by you."

"Nah, it ain't a problem." Gabe said causally, then held his hands against Brian's ribs and closed his eyes.

Brian felt heat coming form the boy's hands, running into his chest. The lights flickered slightly, and Brian's ribs began to really hurt. He whimpered and instinct told him to move, but he forced himself to stay where he was.

Devi was biting his lip in concentration, and now the pain was really hurting. Brian groaned with it, and was just going to ask Devi to stop when it started to ebb. A few minutes more and it had stopped hurting altogether, and Devi had pulled back, panting slightly.

"Wow… that was harder than I thought it would be." He said. "How are they?"

Brian poked himself experimentally.

"They feel… fine!" He said. "Thanks."

Devi smiled. "No problem."

"Oh, uh, that girl and the three guys want to speak to you now." Brian said awkwardly.

Devi's face dropped. "What? Why? Who wants to talk to me?"

Brian shrugged. "They just wanna see if you're okay. Or that's what they told me."

Gabriel shuddered. "Is that guy with the…" He made swiping motions with his hand. "things. Is he there?"

Brian shook his head. "He wasn't there for me. Why, what's your problem with him, he saved us"

Devi scowled, hugging himself unconsciously. "No problems, I just don't like him that's all."

Brian heard the threat in the other boy's voice and backed off. "Yea… anyway, just go down that corridor, turn right, then go through the door right in front of you, it's pretty big."

Gabriel sighed, as if he was going off to meet his doom, and made a show of dragging himself off the bed.

"Thanks anyway." He called before slipping out of the door.

Brian shook his head, then, feeling tired after the quick and sudden healing, decided to lie back and catch some sleep for a bit.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Gabriel paced nervously in front of Jean, Scott and Lance, chewing on his thumb.

The other three watched him for a minute, until Scott broke and finally asked.

"Are you okay?"

"Yea" he snapped. "I'm fine. I just need my methadone, now. Or a hit would be better, but I don't think you're going to be nice enough to give it to me, so I need the methadone. If you ain't gonna put it up, I ain't staying." He warned.

Scott looked confused, but Lance wasn't.

"Look, we'll see what we can work out for you. But right now we need your co-operation."

Gabriel snorted. "Yea, whatever. Who the hell are you people anyway?"

Lance growled, but Scott took it in his stride.

"I'm Scott, and this is Lance and Jean. We're mutants, like you, we're just trying to keep you safe from the MSDC until it all dies down out there."

Gabriel looked less aggravated, but still unhappy. He took a seat on the floor, sitting cross-legged against the wall.

"Okay, what do you want with me then?"

"We don't want anything with you." Jean said soothingly. "We just want to make sure you're alright after being in that prison, maybe find out a bit more about you."

Gabriel snorted. "Oh yea, I'm fine after that." He said bitterly. "It wasn't the first time I was in an institute you know, I lived in a foster home a while back. It had less freedom, but more comforts, so it wasn't a bad trade off really. I was just pissed about being caught in the first place. NOW can I go?"

Lance had sat up once he'd heard that the boy had been in a foster home as well. He decided to try and have a talk with him later on, especially as he had some personal experience in that area. 

Scott was talking.

"No." He said, bluntly, but that was apparently how you needed to deal with this kid. "Chill out kid. What's your name?"

Gabriel sighed. "You can call me Devi." 

"Okay then, Devi. How old are you?"

"How old are you?" He retorted.

Scott filled him in on how old they were and where exactly he was, then waited for his answer.

"'m fifteen." 

"Do you have anyone outside who'd want to hear that you're safe here with us?" Jean asked.

Devi laughed. "Nope, not since I broke up with Geraint. I'm kinda between boyfriends at the moment."

Lance and Scott shared a look. 

Devi shifted his weight from foot to foot in a nervous fashion. "Can I PLEASE go now?"

Lance sighed. "Yea, you can go. Tell the next kid you see to come up and see us ok…"

Devi was long gone.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When he had left, Jean put a hand to her head and groaned. Scott looked up and over at here.

"Jean! Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Jean raised a hand at Scott, telling him it was okay, then, using her powers, floated a cup of water and an aspirin over to her.

"We have to teach these kids some mental restraint." She sighed as she took the little painkiller. "They keep… SHOUTING at me."

Lance gave her a minute then asked her what the verdict on Devi was.

She gave him a look.

"I could hardly hear anything about the prison, or being here. The only thing that was on his mind just now was some kind of drug… it's pretty much all he's focusing on at the moment."

"Heroin." Lance told them.

"What?" 

"Heroin. He asked for methadone, yea? Well, you give heroin addicts going through gradual withdrawal methadone. It's like the actual thing but less vicious."

He felt Scott's stare like an itch on the back of his neck.

"What?" He asked, irritated.

"How do you know so much about it?" Scott asked curiously.

Lance sighed.

"I've known junkies before Scott, it's not exactly uncommon." Sometimes the gaps between their life experiences just caused more problems than they solved...

Scott seemed to sense Lance's slight irritation.

"Sorry babes, I didn't mean to grill you... I was just curious as to how you knew that's all."

"S'okay." Lance chilled out a little bit.

"So, do we need to do anything for him?" Jean asked. The other boys looked at her, confused. "I mean the addiction thing, what do we need to do...?"

Lance shrugged. "We can either get him the methadone and wean him offa it, which is gonna be less trouble where HE'S concerned, but more trouble for us to actually GET the stuff, or we can put him through cold turkey. I think that's our best option. He's already been coming off it and it shouldn't be too hard to keep a little shrimp like that on grounds away from the others until he's better."

"Lance, that sounds kinda mean." Jean said.

"Well Jeanie, you gotta be mean to be nice... or something."

"Are we gonna have trouble with that one?" Scott asked seriously.

"I don't know." Jean said. "I was doing all I could to BLOCK his thoughts, but I didn't actually get anything concrete about him for all that he was yelling. I think we should treat him as a loose cannon for now, until we get to know him a little better anyway. The way he is now, he could go either way."

They stopped their discussion as there was another knock at the door.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Devi trudged through the long and tangled corridors, trying to make his way back to the infirmary.

Apparently, there were some clean clothes waiting for him there, as well as a little map showing him where his room was. 

He whined under his breath as he rubbed, irritated, at his arm. It had been so long since it had felt the needle in his vein, and they itched terribly, inside and out, as his body demanded the drug.

The last time he had shot up had been in a public toilet before clubbing at the 'Dirty Needle'. Methadone was better than nothing, but it was a piss poor substitute for the real thing. He needed to get his hands on a hit and now. He was already feeling sick from early withdrawal symptoms…

He was suddenly slammed into by another body hurtling around the corner. He was sent flying, being so small of frame, even though the other person seemed to reach only 5'3", as he himself did. He turned himself round on the floor and was facing the person by the time they recovered, ready for fight or flight.

He could tell by the female tone of the stream of self-chastising and apologies that this was a girl. That fact made her no less dangerous in his eyes, and he kept his guard up.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Rae hurtled down the corridors, cursing herself for not taking that tiny hand-drawn map with her when she had gone off in search of the kitchens. 

She'd thought it had been silly at the time. After all, it was just a house, how big could it be? She didn't really need that map right… right.

She'd been searching for at least half an hour, trying to find her way back, and was having no luck. She was panicking, unable to bear the thought that straying into places she shouldn't be in would offend her hosts, and thus, she had begun running, only to slam into this boy.

"I am soooo sorry." She said, scrambling up and then reaching over to him. "Are you okay?"

Devi got up without her help.

"Yea, yea, I'm fine. Are YOU?"

"Yea, I am. Sorry about that… I was just… I'm kinda lost…" She realised that she was starting to feel a tightness in her chest, so she rummaged through her pockets until she found her inhaler.

Once she could breathe a little easier, she spoke to the boy.

"So, you were in the prison too yea. You were on the plane last night?"

Gabriel nodded. "Yea, I'm Devi. You are?"

"Oh sorry, I'm Rae."

"Yea. Hey, you don't know the way outta here do you?"

Rae raised an eyebrow. "You want to leave?"

Devi shook his head. "Nah, I just wanna, uh… go stretch my legs."

Rae gave him a steady look, and then shrugged.

"Sorry, I can't help you. I was looking for the kitchens; I have no clue where I am."

"Oh, I could help. Turn left, then go up that corridor, till you get to this big pair of double doors, there's some guys in there who saved us last night who wanna talk to you anyway."

Rae paled. "Am I in trouble?"

Devi laughed. 

"No, they just wanna talk to us. Might bore you to death though."

Rae laughed.

"Okay then, thanks a lot."

"No problem."

Rae and the odd-eyed boy parted ways and she followed his directions until she came upon the door. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on it.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jean smiled as the shy looking girl stepped into the room.

"Uhm... that boy outside said you wanted to see me?" Rae said hesitantly, suddenly afraid that what Devi had said had been just a mean joke.

"Yep, come on in." 

Rae entered and pushed the door closed behind her. 

"You wanna sit down?"

She did so.

"So. First things first. I'm Jean, this is Lance and Scott."

"I'm Rae Straus."

"Hey Rae. Now, do you know what you're doing here?"

Rae shook her head. 

"Basically," Scott took over. "We saved you and a few other kids from that prison place, as you know. We just want to help you and the others with your powers and getting used to having them in your life without fear of people like the MSDC."

Rae gave them a look.

"You're the mutants from that Institute place in Bay-something aren't you! Xavier's kids!"

Scott was quiet and so was Jean, thinking about Xavier no doubt. Lance answered the question.

"That's right, we're from Bayville, so we know exactly what you guys are going through. We just wanna talk to you lot and find out how we can help you get over it, and get on with your lives."

Rae blinked.

"Sorry Rae." Scott put in. "Lance gets like that sometimes."

Rae laughed. "That's okay."

"Great. So how old are you?"

"I'm eighteen, how old are you guys?"

The conversation carried on much like the previous two before. 

"Is there anyone who you'd like us to contact, to let them know you're okay or anything like that?"

"Yes, my parents!" Rae cried out suddenly. "They must still think I'm stuck in Burma!"

"Burma?" Lance asked.

"Yea, I went to Burma recently, my dad came from there originally... it was sooo cool, I saw everything. They still haven't sorted out their government over there- but if the people stick behind Aung San Suu Kyi..."

She stopped when she saw the other three staring at her, Jean with a faint smile on her face.

"Uhm... sorry." She said sheepishly.

Jean laughed. "It's alright. Did you want us to send word to your parents?"

Rae thought for a while.

"I want them to know that I'm alright... and that I'm somewhere where I'm safe from mutant haters where I can train myself. I don't want them to know about being kidnapped or anything. Is that okay?"

"Sure. We'll get word to them by mail for now, but we'll be getting a phone line in soon, and you can call them, or even email them."

Rae grinned. "That'd be great."

"Now, do you think you're going to be up to doing some training with your powers later on? We're not starting the training until next week, but in the next few days, we're going to be just exploring your powers. If you don't feel that you can handle it just yet, we won't push you to it."

"That sounds great." Rae said. Being locked up with nothing to do had made her severely bored. She needed something to keep her mind active, and that sounded perfect. Besides, she would be the first one to put her hand up and say that she needed help with her powers.

"Will that be all?" She asked politely.

"Unless there's anything else you want to talk to us about, yep." Scott replied. "Is there?"

Rae shook her head, her short cropped hair bouncing slightly.

"Okay then, can you send the next person you see up for us?"

"Sure thing." Rae said, then skipped out of the room.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Jean?" Scott looked over to her.

"Well, she didn't shout as much as the other two did." She exclaimed, with some relief. "She seems to be pretty mentally disciplined and, from what I picked up, her mind is quite sharp. She'd be a good tactician."

"I like her." Scott agreed. "Lance?"

"She's okay. She rambles a bit doesn't she."

Scott smacked him in the arm.

"Lance!" Jean defended the girl. "She was just nervous that's all. And we know that she gets on well with the other girls. I think she'll be a great asset to the team."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Rae skipped out of the corridor before she realised that she was, once again, lost.

She slowed down and walked for a while, trying to find somewhere that looked familiar, until she found something better than a landmark.

"Tone!" 

The Irish girl looked up and smiled.

"Hey Rae. How ya doin'?"

"I'm lost." She wailed. "PLEASE tell me you know where the rest of the girls are?"

Tone blinked. "Uhm... they're right down there, jes take a left." She said liltingly, pointing down the corridor.

Rae gave a sigh. "Thank God! Oh, by the way, how's you face?" She asked with concern.

Tone raised a hand and gently traced the still slightly hurting scar that was healing there. 

"Eh, considering I crashed a whole van, it could be worse." She shrugged.

Rae grinned. "Well, it's good that you have such a good outlook on it. Oh, and, three of our rescuers want a word with you." She carried on as Tone suddenly looked worried. "Oh no, don't worry. They're just interviewey things. They're alright. You need to go this way to get there."

She gave Tone directions, and the two girls parted ways.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

Tone pushed the door open and entered, sitting down as she looked from the girl to the two boys.

"I met Rae outside, she said ye wanted tae see me?"

"Sure." Jean answered her. "We just want to make sure you're okay and that you've been dealing with everything since we rescued you. How's the cut on your face feeling?"

"It's fine." Tone said agreeably. "I'm fine, really. Is that all ye were wantin' t'know?"

"Not quite. We want to know a bit more about you. How old are you Antonia?"

Tone winced. "I'm sixteen, and it's Tone. Please don't use my full name."

Jean laughed. "Okay then, Tone."

She made the introductions.

"Now, do you have anyone back home who you want to contact, to let them know you're alright?"

She was quiet for a long time. There were her parents, and her older brother Dean, but for some reason, she didn't want them to know about her plight at that moment. She didn't want to worry them, but most of all, she didn't want their pity.

"No." She said quietly.

Jean gave her a look, but respected her thoughts and said nothing.

"How are you getting on with the other girls Tone?" Scott asked.

Tone smiled. "I luv 'em all, they're so much fun. An' after everythin' we been through t'gether we're like family now."

Scott grinned. "That's good to hear. Well, if there's anything else you want to tell us..."

Tone shook her head, then remembered. 

"Oh! We're kinda finding it hard to navigate roun' here. Is there anyway you could help us find our way about? The maps are helpful, but they get lost easily."

The three older kids thought, until Lance said, "We could put up signs or something?"

Scott shrugged. "Sure." He turned to Tone. "Will that be helpful?"

Tone nodded vigorously.

"Well, that's alright then. Tell the next person you meet to come up and see us, and I think you should be able to go and get those stitches taken out soon. If you think they're healing up, just let us know, okay."

"Alright." Tone agreed and left the room.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Well, I like her." Lance said. "She has the most confidence out of everyone else we've seen."

Jean agreed. "She seems to be quite stable. She'd be a good second-in-command with a small team."

"It's a shame about that nasty cut across her face." Scott said reflectively. "It's going to scar."

Jean sighed. Lance shrugged. "Hey, she seems to be holding up well- plus I guess she'll attract attention anyway with those unique eyes."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Antonia made her way back to the girl's room and found that Rae had decided to join the other two girls in their room. They were apparently talking about Rae's meeting.

"...And I SWEAR that that guy... Scott, yea, him and Lance, I SWEAR they've got something going on."

Tone came in and flung herself on a bed, legs hanging off the edge.

"Aye, I think they do an' all." 

"Hey Tone."

"Hey, where have you been?"

Antonia waved at Liz and answered Lia's question.

"I was where Rae jist was." She said. "They wanna see one of youse now."

Lia looked at Liz, as they were the only girls left.

"Do you want to go first, or shall I?"

Liz shrugged. "I don't really mind."

"Well, neither do I." Lia said.

Rae sighed. "Well, how about you go in alphabetical order."

Lia laughed. "I guess I'm first then."

"You sure?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, I'm not fussed really."

After Tone had given her directions, Lia left to go talk to their hosts.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lia knocked at the door and bounced in.

"Hi." She beamed. 

"Er, hi." Jean smiled, Scott greeted her and Lance raised an eyebrow but smiled back at her.

"How are you?" Lia asked politely.

The others were slightly taken aback.

"Uhm, we're good, right guys?" Scott turned to the other two.

"Yea." Jean nodded.

"Definitely." Lance said. "How are YOU feeling?"

Lia shrugged. "I'm as good as can be expected. So, what did you guys want to talk to me about?"

"Well, we just wanted to find out if you were okay. Jean's a telepath, so if you need anyone to talk to, you can go to her... or even me or Lance here. But let's start from the beginning. How old are you?"

"I'm seventeen."

Lance thought out loud so that Jean would pick his thoughts up. *Send this to Scott: why are all these kids so short?*

She did so, smiling at his comment, and Scott turned and gave Lance an amused look as he got it too.

They chatted, as they had done before, sorting through Lia's mental state and finding out about her personality.

"So Lia, is there anyone you want to get in contact with? We don't have a phone line at the moment, but when we do..."

Lia immediately shook her head. "No." She said decisively. "The only people who I would write to are the ones who betrayed me to the MSDC in the first place."

She thought briefly of her little sister, but her letter, or call, would surely destroy any tale that her parents had made up. She didn't want to confuse the girl, so she would leave. Plus, there was also the danger that her parents would find out where she was and that would put them all in danger.

The room was quiet for a minute, until Scott broke the silence.

"I'm sorry Lia." He said softly. "I know what it's like to lose your parents."

"Thanks." She said softly.

Lance couldn't take the tension.

"Well, if you wanna go back and send someone else up?" He said. "And remember, we'll always be available for you to talk to us if you need to."

Lia smiled.

"Thank you. I'll send Liz up next."

So saying, she left.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Opinions?" Lance asked, sliding from his seat on the arm of the chair to Scott's lap.

"She seems like a friendly kid, and her mental blocks are very very good." Jean decided. "I could hardly hear anything from her at all."

"What did you think about that thing with her parents?"

Lance growled. "If her fuckin' parents don't want her, it's their loss."

Scott rubbed his lover's back soothingly.

"It's okay Lance." To Jean he said. "You'll talk to her if she has problems... and we'll do our best to show her that she's wanted."

"It'll never be good enough for her though." Lance seethed. "She's gonna spend the rest of her life knowing that her parents didn't want her."

He got up from Scott's lap.

"I'm gonna take a walk." He said, before walking out the door, slamming it behind him.

Jean stared after him, then at Scott, who was looking pained.

"Scott...?"

Scott shook his head.

"I'll talk to him later. Right now, we have to see the rest of the kids."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lance glowered as he walked through the corridors aimlessly. 

Speaking to those kids, seeing how many of them were treated as disposable by their parents, it all made him angry because he could relate. He knew too well how it felt to be abandoned by his parents- he too had been left through no fault of his own, in a place where you wouldn't leave a dog.

He kicked a door open and stormed through, being stopped by the glint of metal that suddenly crossed his neck.

Wolverine saw who it was, and sheathed his claws.

"Jeez kid, I could have decapitated yer." He said gruffly.

Lance snorted. "I know you have better control than that Logan."

"Yea, well, you still shouldn't come bursting into the solitary infirmary rooms, especially when it's occupied."

Lance walked over to the bed and looked down on the boy lying there; face pale and coloured with bruises, and his long red hair lying like a pool of colour around his head.

"How is he?" He asked Wolverine.

Wolverine sighed and fell back into a well-sat-in chair.

"Physically, he's stable, but he should have woken up by now. I can't figure out why it's taking so long."

Lance frowned.

"Is there anything we can do?"

"Apart from sit with him until he wakes up, no."

Lance gave Logan a studying look. 

"Have you had a break since you came here?" He asked.

"Well..." Logan said, not answering the question. Lance already knew the answer.

"Look, you go and get something to eat, have a shower, I dunno, something. Just get outta here, I'll look after him for a while."

Logan frowned and was about to say something when Lance interrupted.

"No, there is no good reason for you to stay here. I'll be fine, now go; you're making the place look crowded."

Logan grumbled, but left, leaving Lance to his thoughts and the silence, broken only by the sound of the boy breathing.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Liz knocked on the door, and entered when someone called her in. She sat down only after being invited, and studied Jean, and especially Scott with suspicion. She briefly wondered where the other guy- supposedly this Scott guy's boyfriend- was and kept herself ready for action.

"Hi Liz." Jean greeted, sensing her agitation and telling Scott to let her handle the situation telepathically.

Liz nodded.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty three."

Well, here was someone older than even them, although it wasn't by much.

"It looks like you're the oldest one in the building after Logan." Jean laughed. "But he doesn't count."

Liz did not seem amused.

"Well Liz, we called you up here..."

"I know." Liz cut in. "You want to know if you can help me with anything. Well, I don't wanna be rude, but I'd rather solve my own problems thanks. I won't be a liability to you, and I'll be able to function, but I want to be left alone to work through things myself."

"That's okay." Scott said softly. "We just want to know if we can help you in anyway. Have you got anyone back home that you want to contact."

Liz briefly thought of Tora, but pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind.

"There's my boyfriend, but I guess this kind of puts a dent in our relationship." She said futilely. "Can I go now?"

Jean shrugged. "Unless you want to discuss anything else with us?"

"Actually, there is." Liz said. "Are you keeping us here? Or are we allowed to leave."

"Of course you can leave." Scott said. "Only it would be safer for us if you would wait for a few weeks, just to make sure that the MSDC aren't trying to find you all again."

Liz studied them unnervingly, then nodded. "Sure whatever. See you."

With that, she had gone.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Issues?" Scott half-asked Jean.

"Issues." She replied.

Scott sighed. "Hopefully she'll start to trust us a bit more if we manage to socialise with her a bit, yea?"

Jean sighed. "I don't know Scott. We'll see what happens, when it happens. As long as she stays here and lays low until the MSDC are gone and the other kids are safe, I don't think we can have a say in what she does."

*PLEASE join us.* Jean thought desperately to herself. *We need someone like you.*

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lance yawned and brushed at his nose as something tickled it.

After sitting in the comfortable chair in the warm infirmary for a while, he had started feeling sleepy, and had slowly drifted off. Now, something danced under his nose. At first he had shook his head and sniffed, but now it was getting worse. He brought his hand up and tried to move whatever it was, but felt nothing. Thinking it must have been a piece of thread or something, he tried to get back to sleep... only to feel that same tickling. 

He opened his eyes and gave a yell as he saw strands of red hair dancing in wisps in front of him.

"Sorry." A voice came. Lance looked up to see that Lukka had FINALLY woken up. "I can't control it when I'm this injured." he stopped for a while, apparently thinking, then his brow furrowed. "Who are you?"

This sounded suspicious and vaguely threatening, so Lance talked fast.

"Calm down, your in our infirmary. I'm Lance, me and my friends saved you from the MSDC, they had you beat up pretty badly. You've been in our infirmary for a couple of days now, and we don't know how long you were unconscious for before that."

Lukka tried to sit up, but lay back down, wincing.

"What happened to you?" Lance asked carefully.

Lukka tried to think back...

"I was in the mall with a group of mates, just hanging out... then these police guys appeared outta nowhere, just attacking me... I freaked I didn't know what was going on so I defended myself. I think I made them angry when I threw a few of them over the divider... they beat me up pretty badly after they caught me before I passed out, I know that."

"Those bastards." Lance hissed, and Lukka glanced at him, trusting him more after that outburst as a fellow mutant.

Lance shook his head. "I'm sorry, I've just had enough of anti-mutant humans for one day..." *Or for one lifetime.* He thought. "How old are you anyway?"

"I'm nineteen, my name's Lukka Miller."

"Pleased to meet you Lukka. Is there anything we can do for you?"

Lukka winced. "Well... some painkillers wouldn't be unwelcome."

"Oh, right."

Lance busied himself looking for the painkillers when the door was opened and a brown haired head peeked round.

"Hi. You're Lukka right? Finally awake."

"Lukka, this is Brian Knight. He was in the same place as you were and also got injured."

"Yea." Brian said, sitting on the end of the bed. "They don't like it when you hurt their mates."

Lukka laughed carefully. "They like it even less when you kill some of their mates."

Brian waved a finger at him. "You mean you...?"

Lukka nodded.

"Wow. And I thought I was bad."

Lance stopped.

"Yeah, I thought you were bad too. What happened?"

"Oh, Devi healed me."

"What?"

"Yea, it's his power, something to do with healing energy in here, I don't quite get it myself."

"He's a healer?" Lukka asked. "PLEASE ask him to heal me, even my HAIR hurts."

Lance sighed. "I'll see if I can find him and bring him back Lukka." He reassured the boy. He turned to Brian. "You're coming with me."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bryn was sitting at his desk in his room, reading a book in German that he had found in the house's library when the voice entered his head.

//Bryn? It's me Jean.//

He jumped, before realising who Jean was, and calming down a bit. 

//Jean? How are you?//

//I'm very well thank you Bryn, but Scott and I need to talk to you. Don't worry, it's nothing bad. Could you come to this room please?//

She put a mental map of where they were in his head.

//I'll be there immediately.// He said to her, and began to make his way.

When he got there, he knocked at the door and waited to be called.

"Come in."

He opened the door and let himself in, closing it behind him.

"Sit down." The boy with the glowing eyes offered him a seat, which he took.

"It's Bryn isn't it."

"Bryn Zeitsagen, yes." He replied formally.

"And you're how old Bryn?"

"Nineteen."

The questions carried on much like the times before.

"Have you get anyone back home you'd like to contact, to let them know you're okay?" Scott finally asked. "Jean said that you couldn't go back now because they know where you live."

"That is correct." He said. "I would like to contact my mother and father and let them know I am safe. I also need some personal items from them. Can this be arranged?"

"Sure, no problems there." Scott assured him. "How are you settling in?"

"I've travelled around a lot." Bryn replied. "It is no problem getting used to a new place. Besides, it is much better than that other place."

As they wrapped up the conversation and Bryn began to leave, he turned around.

"Thank you for rescuing me from that place." He said. "I will not forget it."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Well, you were right." Scott said. "He IS very polite."

"Mmm..." Jean said, somewhat detachedly. "If only I could find a man like that... so refined, and polite, and charming..."

Scott shook his head and laughed.

"So unlike Lance." He said. "But I love him anyway. It's weird how it hits you that way Jean. You'll find someone someday." He comforted his lonely friend.

"Now, who have we got next?"

Jean held up a hand as she heard Lance shouting for her.

//Jean?//

//Yes Lance?//

//Lukka's awake.//

//That's excellent news!// She thought, beaming. 

//Yea... better news is that that Devi kid apparently healed Brian, so we're trying to find him to see if we can ask him to heal Lukka too.//

//Well, good luck with your search Lance.//

//Wait, can't you give us a hand?// Jean's thought-voice was playful. //What would be the fun in that for you? Give me a call if you haven't found him in half an hour.//

//Well thanks a lot Jean... and tell Scotty this from me...//

He evilly sent a barrage of risqué images of him and Scott in compromising positions, and Jean winced.

//I'll pass the sentiments on certainly... you evil, evil...// She cut off before he had the pleasure of hearing her swear.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kegan walked straight into the room and sat down on the chair, one leg hanging over the side, bold as brass.

"Hey guys, whaddaya want?"

The two were slightly taken aback.

"Uhm, hi Kegan. We wanted to have a chat to you to see if you needed anyone tot talk to, or anything in general after that prison cell?"

Kegan thought for all of five seconds.

"I'm dying for a cigarette."

"Well, how old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"You're underage…" Scott said doubtfully.

"I'm also a practising bisexual, a mutant hated by humanity and once locked in a prison for it and a recovering heroin addict, I THINK I should be allowed one fucking SMOKE."

There was silence in the room until Jean stood up.

"There's no need to swear Kegan. If you feel you need a cigarette, you can ask Logan to lend you one."

//Jean, you're mean. // Scott sent.

//Gotta be cruel to be kind. //

She sent back, as Kegan slammed the door behind him on his way out.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Well..." said Scott.

"Indeed." Jean replied. "He's so angry at everything, but I don't if that's just the way he is or more of a defence mechanism. I think we're going to need to work with him on his people skills… but I know we can get through to him eventually."

She was interrupted with a shout in her head.

//JEAN! PLEASE help us, we can't find Devi ANYWHERE. //

//Ouch! Lance, don't shout at me. What do you mean you can't find him? //

//Seriously, he's not anywhere. I think we might keep missing him, please can you look for us, PLEASE? //

//Okay, okay, give me a minute… though he's probably right behind you. //

She paused and, putting her hands to her temples for better concentration, looked for Devitt's mental signature.

//Uh-oh, he's outside the perimeter walls! // Jean sent this to Scott AND Lance. //He's gonna give away our position! //

//Lance, can you… //

//I can't, I'm too far away. Logan's nearer. //

//Logan? //

//What Red? //

//That small boy, Gabriel? Or Devitt? Well, whoever he is, he's left the perimeter walls. //

//And you want me to go bring him back right? //

//Please. It'd be a big help, and might save us being discovered. //

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Logan sighed, put his beer down and made his way to the back door.

"No good little fidgeting, escaping, disobedient…"

The trail of words followed him out of the door.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FINALLY! The next chapter! This thing is 27 pages long okay. See what I do to make sure you're all mentioned. 

If you'd prefer your chapters out sooner and don't mind your character not being a big part a coupla times, do tell me. If more people want their chara in every instalment, but don't mind waiting, tell me. I'll see what I should be doing ok.

Any other comments, please leave a review.

Luv u all,

DCJ


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Dealing

Lick The Pavement  
  
Chapter Fourteen: Dealing  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
//Cause I can run, I can hide,  
I can take a world of pain in a stride  
And I don't need fairy tales to pretend  
And I don't need heroes to depend on  
I can heal, I can regenerate  
I can give birth and I can meditate  
And I can hate, I can love, I can fuck  
I can see the view below from the top//  
  
I Can Climb Mountains - Hell Is For Heroes  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
Gabriel ran up to the perimeter wall, gasping for air, and leapt at it, using his powers to give him the extra lift that he needed to grab the top. His boots scraped against the brickwork as he scrabbled desperately to pull himself over, finally managing to sit atop the high wall.  
  
He wasted no time looking back at where he had come from, but instead turned and dropped down, landing and jarring his ankle. He hissed in pain and shook it slightly to ease it, before leaning against the wall to try and catch his breath.  
  
He felt slightly bad about just up and leaving the people who had rescued him like this, but there were more important things on his mind at that moment.  
  
The house had to be getting its food from somewhere, so there had to be some kind of civilisation around here. Civilisation eventually meant towns, and towns meant drugs. especially heroin.  
  
Gabriel was getting desperate.  
  
He hadn't had a hit since before the 'Dirty Needle' before he got captured, and the methadone he'd been given was like giving a bag of marbles to a man who wanted to build a house.  
  
It wasn't anywhere near what he needed.  
  
He'd first tried the drug when he was eleven, having nothing else to do and wanting to have something in common with his boyfriend at the time. By the time he was thirteen he was an addict and mainlining, injecting the stuff straight into his veins.  
  
He'd tried going straight a few times, usually when he was fed up of doing what he had to do to get more of the junk, but the pain of withdrawal had been so bad, so traumatising, that he had gone straight back on it.  
  
He had the sneaking suspicion that the kind of people he had suddenly fallen into the lap of would not let him sit in his room mainlining heroin. He had to get out of there and find a nice city where he could melt back into the background, find a dealer and just spend his time as he was before.  
  
The drug was calling his name like a lover and he wasn't strong enough to resist it.  
  
He was about to limp off when he saw a shape from the corner of his eye, leaping over the wall and landing cat-like in front of him.  
  
It stood up, and he saw the short but obviously dangerous man from the mansion stand up in front of him. Panicked, his powers went into action, and he formed a ball of energy from the fear that rose up sharply around him, firing it at the man in front of him.  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
Logan growled as he left the house.  
  
He stood on the front lawn and sniffed the air, catching the scent of the 'escapee' almost instantly: he smelt like fear, desperate desire, something sickly under it all, with an undertone of blood, sweat and sex.  
  
He looked down, found the boy's tracks through the long wet grass in a matter of seconds and followed them along to the wall. He heard the sound of the boy's panting lungs as they rushed to fill his body with air, and, deciding to utilise the element of surprise, stepped back from the wall a few paces, then ran and leapt at it.  
  
He cleared the wall with ease, landing and turning to face the small boy who stared at him thunderstruck for a few scant seconds, before leaning back and firing a ball of crackling black energy at him.  
  
Wolverine wasn't so codenamed for nothing, and used his fast reflexes to sidestep the energy safely. He stood there, hands out to show he meant no harm.  
  
"Hey there kid. Look, I'm not gonna hurt ya, but I have ta take ya back. It's not safe for the other kids for you to be out here..."  
  
Gabriel flattened himself into the wall, terrified out of his wits. He hardly heard what Logan was saying, the energy from his terror and Logan's natural aggression and irritation building up.  
  
He held his hands out, palm down in front of him and snarled warningly. "Lemme leave. I'll go and won't come back."  
  
"No can do kid." Logan said, then had to jump as a wave of energy, too broad to leap over, came at his feet. He jumped hard and landed behind Gabriel, who tried to turn but was too slow for Wolverine.  
  
Gabriel was grabbed around the chest, arms pinned to his sides, and he immediately started to struggle.  
  
"Let GO of me." He shrieked, panic setting in fast. "Lemme go, lemme go, lemme go..."  
  
He kicked and tried to bite Logan, trying everything he could to make him let go.  
  
Logan was a strong guy, but Gabriel's squirming was making it difficult for him to be carried. Logan made a decision and squeezed down on a certain nerve in the boy's neck. Gabriel passed out into still black in a second.  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
Kegan stalked through the corridors of the large house, mumbling under his breath about the unfairness of it all. After everything he had been through, he STILL wasn't allowed a cigarette. Well, not until he found this Wolverine character anyway.  
  
He was walking past what he thought was the kitchen when a short stocky man whom he recognised as Logan himself walked through from outside, a limp looking body slung across his shoulder.  
  
"Whoa! What did you do?" He asked.  
  
Logan growled. "None o'your business kid."  
  
//Red? //  
  
//Wolverine? // Jean sounded frazzled. //You found him? //  
  
//Good as new, though he did try to take me out with some little static ball of his. // Wolverine replied, obviously ticked.  
  
//Thanks Logan. // Jean pathed. //It seems that he won't be stable around here until he's free from his heroin addiction. //  
  
*So that's what that sickly smell was. * Logan realised. *We have a junkie. *  
  
//You want I should put him in the infirmary Red? //  
  
//No... he needs to be in a room, near the infirmary, but one where he can be contained for his safety and the safety of the other students. //  
  
//Can do Red. //  
  
Logan broke the connection and began taking Gabriel, slung over his shoulder, to the solitary confinement rooms near the infirmary, usually used for long-term illnesses, coma patients or quarantine cases.  
  
Kegan followed.  
  
"So, what ya doin' now?"  
  
"I'm taking Devitt here to the infirmary where he can rest up."  
  
"Oh yea... looks like he needs it... you didn't kill him did you?" He was playfully suspicious.  
  
"NO, I did NOT kill him." Logan snapped. Damn kids.  
  
"Oh... Jean said you had a smoke. DO you have a smoke?"  
  
"Yes." Damn Jean.  
  
"C'n I have one?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Please can I have one?"  
  
"No."  
  
"But I said please."  
  
"So."  
  
"Gimme a ciggy."  
  
"No."  
  
"Gimme a ciggy."  
  
"No."  
  
"Gimme a ciggy."  
  
"Go away."  
  
"Gimme a ciggy."  
  
"For the last time kid, NO!"  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
"Gimme a ciggy?"  
  
Logan couldn't be bothered to go through all this anymore. He carefully balanced Gabriel on one shoulder, reached into his pocket, and pulled out half a carton of cigarettes, handing them to the boy.  
  
"Thanks man." Kegan held a cigarette in his mouth, then futilely patted his pockets down for a lighter.  
  
Logan sighed and pulled one out.  
  
"Thanks." Kegan lit his ciggy and exhaled with every ounce of pleasure.  
  
"Man, I needed that."  
  
"Great... now can you leave? I need to wait for this guy to wake up and I don't want you hanging around."  
  
Kegan followed Logan into a single room with a lock on the door and watched as the small black haired boy was put tenderlessly but still gently into the bed and covered with a sheet.  
  
"I'll watch him for you if you want" He offered.  
  
Logan turned, surprised. "What?"  
  
"Sure. I've got nothing else to do. Besides... I kinda have personal experience with his... problem."  
  
Logan was going to inquire exactly how Kegan knew about that, but decided to let it be for now. Unbeknownst to him, Jean had already asked Kegan to do this for them until Lance came down, seeing as how Kegan had some personal experience in this area.  
  
Logan nodded.  
  
"Okay kid, but you'd better not get bored and skip off. he tried to escape once, I don't want him putting the other kids in jeopardy again. Understood?"  
  
"Oh, totally." Kegan replied snarkily. "He'd be as safe with me as he would with you. but considering you've knocked him out he'd probably be even safer."  
  
Logan growled and left, muttering something that Kegan thought he was better off not hearing.  
  
As he sat on the chair next to the bed, smoking his cigarette with relish, he looked the fey boy on the bed over.  
  
Small, frail, almost dainty bird-like build. pale, near-blue skin tone. apart from the multiple ear piercings he also had a lip ring. which was interesting. His image said 'tough punk' but his body said 'vulnerable child'. a pleasing mix of elements.  
  
As he watched, the boy on the bed moaned in a distressed way, writhing on the bed and turning to his side where he began to curl up into a foetal position.  
  
Kegan laughed softly, a sound visualised in the blue-grey smoke that billowed from his mouth, and leaned forward, brushing a lock of blue-black hair out from the other boy's face. Devitt relaxed and sighed, leaning into the touch like a cat.  
  
Kegan smiled.  
  
He was worried that he'd die of boredom round here, but things were now starting to look up for him.  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
Rae, Lia and Tone looked up and round from their card game as Liz walked into the room, silently but fuming, picked up the sketch book and pencil case lying on her bed, and walked back out without giving the other girls a look.  
  
The other three looked at each other.  
  
"What was that all about?" Lia asked.  
  
"Don' look at me." Tone said.  
  
"Must have been the interview." Rae said, biting her lip anxiously. "Should we go and see if she's okay?"  
  
"It looked as if she wanted to be on her own to me." Lia said. "I'd say we should go after her, but I don't think she'd appreciate it."  
  
The other two looked torn, but reluctantly agreed.  
  
"What did you think of the interviewers anyway?" Lia asked.  
  
"They seemed friendly enough." Rae said hesitantly.  
  
"An' this place is certainly better'n where we were before." Tone chipped in. "Why, what did you think of it?"  
  
Lia shrugged.  
  
"They were okay. It wasn't anything to startling... I guess having a huge influx of new kids is more startling to them than us lot coming here is to us."  
  
"Speakin' of the other kids-" Tone cut in. "Have either of you spoken to any of 'em apart from on the plane?"  
  
"Well, I met the odd-eyed boy from the plane, one of the ones that the Logan guy rescued, you know. Yeah, his name is Devi... but all we talked about was going outside and that those guys wanted to see me, so I don't think it quite counts. Why, did you?"  
  
"Nope. I came right back here from there. Lia?"  
  
"I haven't really talked to anyone, no."  
  
"Well, some of 'em are still in the infirmary." Tone said. "I saw a couple when I was down there. But where everyone else is, I dunno. Shall we go find 'em?"  
  
"I dunno..." Rae seemed reluctant, but Lia smiled and looped their arms. "Oh, come on Rae. It'll be fun. If things get uncomfortable, we'll just go get something to eat from the kitchens and then do some exploring okay?"  
  
Rae was shy, and slightly intimidated at the thought of meeting new people, but loathed the thought of waiting in her room on her own even more, so she agreed.  
  
So, Tone quickly scribbled a note to let Liz know where they had gone, and the three girls left in search of their other housemates.  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
Lance was sitting in a chair on one side of Lukka's bed, with Brian sitting on the other side, the boy's playing cards spread out across Lukka's bedsheets.  
  
//Lance? //  
  
Lance jumped, dropping his cards.  
  
"Jean." he said, out loud so that the other boys would know what was going on.  
  
//I REALLY wish you wouldn't do that all of a sudden. // He grumbled.  
  
//Whatever rock-boy. // Jean replied amusedly. //I have news on Devi. //  
  
//Oh yeah? Did Logan bring him back? //  
  
//Well... yes and no. He brought him back, but he was unconscious at the time. //  
  
//Damn. So he's not going to be able to heal Lukka then? //  
  
//Unfortunately not. // Jean replied. //Even when he does wake up he's not going to be of much help. We've decided, with Kegan's help, to put him through withdrawal and try and get him off that nasty habit. So Kegan's going to have to heal the usual way. //  
  
Lance frowned. //Poor kid. //  
  
//Which one? //  
  
//Both of them... but mainly Lukka. He didn't deserve to be beaten up by those stupid pigs at the MSDC. //  
  
//I agree with you Lance, but getting angry over it isn't going to heal Lukka any quicker. //  
  
//I know. //  
  
//Anyway, what are you going to do now? Scott's wondering where you are. //  
  
Lance looked at Brian and Lukka, who were watching him carefully, and grinned.  
  
//Tell him he can wait, or come down here himself. I haven't finished playing cards with these guys yet. //  
  
Jean broke contact and Lance shook his head.  
  
"Talking to Jean through telepathy always makes me feel like I'm talking to myself." He grumbled, and Brian laughed.  
  
"So what's the news on the healer kid?" Kegan asked, looking hopeful.  
  
Lance sighed.  
  
"They found him, but he's unconscious. Sorry Lukka, you're gonna have to heal the normal way."  
  
Lukka sighed, the cards held up by his hair falling face down onto the blanket.  
  
"Ah shit."  
  
"So what now?" Brian asked.  
  
"Now. we play blackjack." Lance said dealing.  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
Bryn sat at the desk in his room, while the Flower Duet by Latme played quietly in the background. After the stress over the past few days, listening to some opera was exactly what he needed to wind down a bit. It reminded him of home and better times..  
  
He was currently penning a letter in German to his parents.  
  
} ... they have been treating us well so far, and I have no complaints. It is certainly better than the prison cell of the MSDC.  
  
I am also writing for a favour. Would you be able to mail my journal through to me? It is of some importance and I'd really appreciate it.  
  
Thank you. {  
  
He was about to sign off when there was a pounding at the door.  
  
"Hello? Is anyone in there?"  
  
He got up, turning the volume on his radio down, and opened the door to reveal three of the girls from the plane. This looked. noisy.  
  
"Can I help you?" He asked politely, faced with three girls of varying heights.  
  
Tone grinned.  
  
"Hey. I'm Tone and this is Lia." pointing to the black-streaked blonde, who smiled and waved "and Rae." She pointed to the shortest girl, a red streaked brunette, who flushed slightly and looked down at her feet, seemingly nervous. "We were bored, so we thought we'd have a look around." She had a strong Irish accent, Bryn noted.  
  
"I'm Bryn Zeitsagen." He said politely.  
  
"Great." Tone said.  
  
"Hey Bryn, did you have an interview with those other people too?" Lia asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"How did yours go?"  
  
"They seem like very nice people."  
  
"So it seems pretty unanimous then." Lia said, looking round at her friends. "We're better off here than at the MSDC centre."  
  
"Well THAT goes without sayin'." Tone laughed.  
  
"Hey Bryn, do you wanna come down and have a look around the house with us? It's easy to get lost; we might be safer if we all go in a group." Lia joked.  
  
"Well."  
  
"Oh come on. We can get something to eat as well. How about it?"  
  
Bryn looked at all the girls smiling at him and couldn't say no.  
  
"Let me turn the radio off then."  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
Liz sat in on the window-ledge of one of the large windows in the new house, a sill so large that it was basically an alcove.  
  
She had one foot resting on the sill, knee propped up, using her leg as a surface to prop her sketchbook on as she drew. Silent and concentrating, the pencil in her hand flew across the paper, resting only when she shook her head and picked up the eraser to rub any misdrawn lines out furiously, before she resumed her work.  
  
She'd been antsy to leave the building, especially after the interview, but had realised, on second thought, that she had nowhere else to go.  
  
She didn't want to end up being captured by the MSDC in another state, or even another country, especially not now as she knew what would be waiting for her. being treated as less than human, assessed, interrogated, thrown around like so much meat, locked into those small, low ceilinged rooms.  
  
She shook her head as she realised that she was lost in thought, and erased the line that cut down the page from her falling hand irritably.  
  
The fact that was taking form on the page was smiling, a girl of about her age, her best friend Tora.  
  
She remembered what had happened, remembered killing that man, and the shock that had flooded her like ice-water in her veins.  
  
But now that she'd had time to overcome her shock, she realised, with grim satisfaction, that she'd gladly kill another human, with no remorse.  
  
She smiled, her mouth hard, and went back to trying to capture life in eyes that would never hold life again.  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
Sorry about the long wait people. I had bad block for this chapter, and I still don't like it. AND I'm sick again. I have no immune system WHAT so EVER! The chapter was gonna be longer, but I decided to save some of those ideas for the next one and post this thing as soon as possible. I also think that the attention is being divided between the characters unfairly, and I'd be interested to know if you feel the same way.  
  
But anyway, I need to know who you want pairing with.  
  
The people who are available are..  
  
Liz Lia Brian Tone Rae Jean  
  
Yes, I know. Shut up, I know! Okay. so far, I've been thinking Tone and Rae, Liz and Jean and Lia and Brian, but that's just the way I feel that the characters have chemistry from what I'm writing.  
  
You can disagree and give me your own pairings, because what I've got down is not set in stone. If you could also suggest pairings you think would be cute for the other characters, I'd be really grateful.  
  
Thanks a lot, look out for chapter fifteen. wow! Fifteen? Okay. adios  
  
Luv DCJ 


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Depression And Repressi...

Lick The Pavement

Chapter Fifteen: Depression and Repression

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

//Just close your eyes and speak

Say what we both know is inside you

If you want I'll keep

So much bury deep

Wake up its gone

What made you fall away?//

The Closet - Vex Red

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scott stood quietly at the door and watched his lover sitting with the other two boys. Lukka saw him and looked up, but Scott smiled and shook his head, putting a finger to his lips, and Lukka smiled and went back to the game, without giving Scott away to Lance.

Apparently, the three had lost interest in the cards and were now engaged in some random tale about... stealing cars?

"So there I was, trying to not get myself killed in this car, and I'd managed to lose all but two of these police guys when I realise that I'm running out of bloody gas..."

Scott coughed from the doorway and Lance's head whipped round.

"I thought I'd talked to you about telling that story." Scott said with a grin.

Lance shrugged.

"Yea well..."

Scott came in and sat down next to Lance in a chair, as there was no more room on the bed.

"How are you feeling Lukka?" He asked.

"Well, considering I was beaten unconscious and only just woke up... actually, not too bad." He said.

Brian was watching them banter with a slight smile on his face when Scott turned to him.

"And how are you?"

"I'm better since Devi healed me."

Scott looked puzzled and Lance filled in the blanks.

"Oh, that Devi kid apparently used the energy from the hospital to heal Bri here. Of course, he can't do anything for Lukka cause he's now unconscious, thank-you-very-much-Logan."

Scott frowned and idly played with Lance's fingers, which were in front of him on the bed. He suddenly realised what he was doing when Lance pulled his hand away sharply, and looked up to see Lukka and Brian both looking at them.

"Ummm..." He began, but Lukka waved a hand to say don't worry about it.

"It's cool. I'm not exactly attracted to the female of the species either." He said.

"My brother's gay." Brian said, amusingly deadpan.

Scott smiled, but Lance grinned and edged over to Scott, eventually just getting up and perching on Scott's knee, putting an arm around his neck to play with the now-long ends of his hair.

"You guys are very cool." Lance stated.

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Tone was ahead of Rae and Lia, talking to Bryn about how her powers were caught on live camera.

"So I had totally no idea I was a mutant, but then it jis' hit me, rite in the middle of a footie game, an' then these spiders came outta nowhere and jist attacked the stands... and then there were people runnin' an' yea... but that's how I think I got picked up... cause it was televised an' all."

Bryn was listening to her politely, occasionally asking her to repeat herself.

Lia laughed then turned to Rae.

"So... what made you decide to go for red?"

"Huh?" Lia broke Rae out of her musings.

"The hair." Lia smiled, pointing to her own. "Or rather, the streaks."

"Oh!" Rae touched her hair. "No. They're natural."

Lia made big eyes. "You're joking? You're so lucky." She pulled fingers through her own black streaked blonde tresses. "I have to keep wasting money getting mine done."

"It's pretty." Rae said, smiling.

Lia BEAMED at Rae. 

"THANK you." She gushed, spontaneously hugging the slightly smaller girl.

Rae blushed and stood still as she was hugged. She'd had problems with friends in the past and they had pretty much destroyed any trust in people that she had. She found it hard to let people in, but now Lia was here, and she was practically forcing herself under Rae's barricades.

And Rae found that she couldn't stop herself letting the other girl in.

The conversation between Bryn and Tone had moved to the subject of how Tone dealt with her strange eye colour, solid black from corner to corner.

"It wasn't as much of a problem as ye may think." She was saying as she followed the tall boy. Bryn absorbed knowledge like a sponge soaks up water, and knew his way around the institute pretty well after having studied the maps, so he was leading them.

"As long as I wore me shades, I wis fine. I tole everyone who asked thit I had specially light-sensitive eyes. O'course I had tae be home schooled, cause they wouldn'a let me wear 'em indoors."

"I was also tutored from home." 

"Yeh were? How come? Yer ain't visibly a mutant."

"Our family moved back and forth through Europe a lot because of my parent's occupations." He explained. "My mother is an opera singer and my father a conductor, so they are required to tour. It was easier to bring my own tutor rather than having to change schools each time. I was also taught on a more classical syllabus than the one now taught."

"Wow." Tone said. "So, how many houses have ye lived in?"

"Oh, no. We had a house in England, Germany and Italy. Otherwise we stayed in hotels, 'living out of a suitcase' as it were." He said grinning. 

Bryn's totally unself-conscious tone showed that he wasn't bragging about his family's wealth, but just stating the facts.

"So, do you have any siblings sharing this wealth with yer?" Tone teased.

Bryn grinned. "There's my elder sister Bethany. She's currently working in Italy."

"How much older?"

"She's twenty eight, but her birthday's coming up in a few months. And what about your family?"

Tone snorted and waved a careless hand.

"Oh, there's me brother, Dean, also older. I stay outta his business, he stays outta mine and we get along fine."

"Oh YES!" Lia cheered behind them. They had arrived at the kitchen.

"Coming?" Tone asked Bryn as the other two girls bounded off. 

"Actually, I need to find one of our hosts and ask them something. You go on ahead, I'll see you later."

Tone grinned, waved and followed her friends.

Bryn set off down the corridor, looking for Scott or Jean.

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Logan was still grumbling about Kegan's insufferable impudence and about Jean for telling Kegan to ask him for a cigarette in the first place when he walked past the large windowsill. 

He stopped and backed up, seeing the older girl with the blue-lit black hair sitting there on her own, what looked like a sketch book hanging limply from her hand, her cheek resting on her hand which was- in turn- resting on her up-drawn knee.

She seemed so lost in her own world, gazing without seeing from the window, that Logan was loathe to disturb her, but also annoyed that she failed to sense his presence there.

This was the girl who Jean seemed to think he could personally train with some reasonable results, but this lack of response wasn't promising.

"Hey Streaks."

Liz was ripped out of her thoughtless trance by the sound of Logan's voice, and she reflexively turned sharply, which made her overbalance and begin to fall off the ledge, but she waved an arm widely and re-caught herself.

"Don't DO that." She snapped.

Logan raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. 

"Don't say hi?"

Liz growled. "You know what I meant."

Logan smiled.

"So, do you gotta name or do I have to keep callin' you Streaks?"

"I'm Liz Blake. And you are…?"

"You can call me Logan, or you can call me Wolverine. Either's fine."

"And you're named after a notoriously vicious carnivorous mammal because…."

Logan uncrossed his arms and directed his blades downwards, sliding them out fast. Liz jumped.

"I AM a notoriously vicious carnivorous mammal." He smirked, retracting the long sabre-like claws.

Liz stared at his hands where the extra appendages had been. 

Logan spoke to break the tension.

"So, whaddaya drawing there?"

Liz instantly grabbed her drawing book and held it to her chest, glaring at Logan fiercely.

"Right, right." He said, putting his hands up calmingly. "It's an artist thing, I get it."

After a few more minutes of silence, in which Liz silently prayed that the burly man would go away and leave her to her drawing, Logan spoke up again.

"Why aren't ya with the others?"

Liz shrugged. "I didn't feel like company."

"I know how that feels." Logan agreed, and there was a fleeting sense of understanding between the two before it washed away like chalk in the rain.

"I'm gonna go back to my room now." Liz said quietly, moving off.

"See ya around then Streaks." Logan called out behind her, wondering if every other new kid that they had in this place was traumatized in some way, or if it was just that he attracted the crazy ones.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Scott, Lance, Lukka and Brian were once again playing cards, although it had degenerated into an adrenaline pumped game of Snap.

Bryn knocked on the door, but it was open and swung back as he rapped on it. 

"SNAP!" Lukka screamed, slamming his hand down on the cards a split second before Scott jumped and did the same.

"That wasn't fair!" The red eyed boy exclaimed as Lukka raked the cards towards him, giggling insanely. "He was using his hair again, he had his hands free."

"Sorry Scott." Brian, who was on Lukka's team, said, with a huge grin on his face contrary to his apology. "But you shoulda been faster."

"Hello." Lance said, and the other three looked up to see Bryn standing there, looking up from underneath his dusky light brown fringe. "We haven't been introduced properly, have we? You are?

"I'm Bryn Zeitsagen, pleased to meet you." 

"Oh yeah! Well Bryn, I'm Lance. You know Scott and this is Brian and Lukka, the invalid."

Lukka smiled at Bryn, and some cards held in his hair waved lazily at him.

"I'd get up but..." he joked, indicating his bedridden state.

Bryn looked over his injuries with compassion. 

"Can you not be healed?" He asked.

Lukka blinked at him.

"Well… yeeeees…. if I could, of course I would."

Bryn looked confused. "Why can't you?"

"Well, we have a noticeable lack of HEALERS for one thing." Lukka said, slightly irritated by being reminded of how long he'd have to stay in bed unable to fully move for.

"Well…" Bryn looked from Scott to Lukka. "I could heal you."

The room went silent until Scott spoke.

"How?"

"Well, my power is time manipulation, correct? I can increase the speed of your body's natural healing and you'll heal yourself. It won't be painless and you will age by how long I speed you up, but you will get out of that bed faster."

Scott looked unsure, but Lukka sat up- well, as best as he could- and nodded furiously. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!"

Scott sighed.

"I dunno… it sounds kinda… dodgy."

"Oh. Let the kid do it if that's what Lukka wants Scott." He turned to Lukka. "If this turns you into an eighty-five year old man, it's your own damn fault." He scolded.

Lukka shrugged and turned to Bryn, who was looking unsure.

"Hey, ignore 'em. Speed me up!" He could hardly sit still.

Bryn sighed. "Okay then… but don't hate me if this goes wrong."

He held his hands over Lukka and concentrated on his power, pulling at the future of the bone's healing, the cuts sealing and the bruises fading, then unleashed all that potential in one go.

Lukka stiffened and bit his lip, but couldn't stop the dull moan that came from his throat as a good few months of healing hit him al at once. He felt the bones knitting, the cuts moving and the pain that was numb from painkillers flaring, then dropping down. His hair moved as if it was underwater, straining to defend the body against the pain, but being unable to.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, it was over. Lukka sank down breathing hard and Bryn swayed slightly, falling back into a chair which Scott offered him.

"You okay?" Scott asked worriedly.

Bryn nodded.

"Yes, yes. I'll be okay, I just need to rest for a few seconds." He said.

"Lukka?" 

 Lukka gingerly moved a leg, then an arm, and finally stood up in the bed.

"YES!" He hollered, punching the air and jumping on the bed for good measure.

He leapt off and glomped Bryn, hugging him round the neck and squeezing,

"THANK you! Man, I could KISS you!"

He leapt off to poke Brian, leaving Bryn standing there with a slight blush to his cheeks.

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Kegan was still watching over the unconscious body, but was watching with no awareness. His mind was off elsewhere, mulling over the question of why homosexuality was seen as such a threat to those moronic homophobes.

It was a question he pondered often, having been victim to physical abuse from said morons more times than he could count.

He was interrupted from his musings as the boy on the bed lifted his hand slightly, his breathing changing, speeding up, each breath a hiccup as if he were gasping for air, or maybe sobbing. 

He was concerned for the pretty faced boy and called his name, hoping to wake him up and out of it.

"Devi? Dev."

There was no response, so Kegan tried gently rubbing a hand on his arm, a more soothing way to wake up than being shaken. 

This DID get a reaction.

_= He knew he was in that cell, back at the MSDC, even though water was running in from the ceiling, forming a pool in the middle of the floor. He sat back on his haunches and watched it with horrified fascination as it grew bigger and bigger. A shadow broke away from the wall and became hands, a body, a guard who began stripping him down. He shook hard under the man's touch, but couldn't do anything, couldn't even whimper as he was turned and pushed down onto his back. The man stood over him and grabbed his feet, another man grabbed his arms and he was lifted. The world swayed and he was being swung, back and forth and back and… he was flying, falling, his stomach flipped and he turned, cat-like in the air, only to fall face-first into the pool of water, which was suddenly a bathtub… he gripped at the porcelain sides, only caring that they were slippery… his head was being held down, he pushed back against it, he couldn't get a grip on the bathtub sides, he was running out of air… his head was pulled p and out, and he gulped for air, even as the man's hand began running down his arm, like the water streaming across his face… =_

Kegan wasn't sure if it was better that Devi didn't wake up screaming. It certainly would have been less eerie. The way he did wake up was terrible in that he was so quiet, almost consciously making no noise.

How many other nightmares had he had, waking up with no one hearing him?

Devi woke with a gasp, almost silent, not even sitting up. His eyes snapped open and he panted, still sobbing, the constrictive feeling carrying over from the dream world into reality.

Kegan stood where he was visible and crouched down to Devi's level, making soothing shushing noises and stroking the skinny arm with his fingers, hands still.

"Hey, it's ok, it was just a dream. You're awake now, you're okay."

Devi, feeling itchy in the head and arms and feeling his stomach ache in nauseous rebellion of consciousness, only stared back, wide, panicked silver/amber eyes locking with jeweled aqua blue ones, projecting a sense of calmness. 

Devi looked round and sat up, nonchalantly moving Kegan's hand from his arm, the feeling of the guard in his dream still haunting his nerve endings.

"I was outside…" He said fuzzily.

Kegan smiled. 

"Logan found you and knocked you out to bring you back. They don't want you to run out and alert the MSDC to where we are." He said, sitting back.

Devi studied the ice-blond. 

"You're Kegan yea?"

"Yup. And you're Devi."

Devi nodded. 

"What were you dreaming about?" Kegan asked, his curiosity knowing no bounds, and immediately regretted his question lest the fey boy should clam up. 

But he didn't. Instead his eyes darkened to steel and honey for a few seconds, but brightened once again.

"It wasn't important. Just one of the guards from the MSDC."

Kegan winced, about to ask the unasked question, but Devi continued. 

"It was prolly 'cause I bit him."

Kegan grinned disbelievingly. 

"You BIT him?"

"Yup."

Kegan cracked up.

"Oh man, that's brilliant." He laughed. "Who was it?"

"Uh… I dunno, Mick? Nick? The one with the hair…" He waved a hand ambiguously over his head, and Kegan had another fit of hysterics. 

"Oh great, you bit Nick. The bastard so totally deserved it."

Devi grinned at Kegan, the lingering darkness of the bad dream forgotten.

Once Kegan regained his breath, he wiped his eyes and looked back at Devi.

"Okay…" his tone became more serious, but not so much that he worried Devi. "You're not gonna like this next part…"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I have.... an idea.

Yes, me and my mate were brainstorming this fic, and now I know where it's going. I'm gonna warn you now, your characters are gonna be bastardised, but DO NOT WORRY. They will be redeemed in the end, even if it doesn't look that way at first. And it SO won't look that way at first.

Buckle in, it's gonna be a long ride.


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Time Passes

Lick The Pavement  
  
Chapter Sixteen: Time Passes....  
  
(Dedicated to Cloud of Blood, whose AMAZING writing kicked me up the arse to do my own)  
  
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//The glass sets up a sound like people laughing  
It's going to my brain and it's easing all my pain  
I must hear this sound again 'cause time is passing//  
  
Time Is Passing - The Who  
  
//Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road  
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go  
So make the best of this test and don't ask why  
It's not a question but a lesson learned in time  
It's something unpredictable  
But in the end is right  
I hope you had the time of your life//  
  
Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) - Greenday  
  
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Devi didn't like what Kegan went on to tell him, and continued to not like it for ten days after that, ten days during which he was locked in his room and at one point sedated, as the drug cravings drove him to curse, scream and plead with whoever was watching him at that time.  
  
Kegan had explained to him that he had to go through withdrawal, and Devi had been scared, his fear manifesting in a string of cussing. Kegan told him that he'd also been through it, and knew that it would be hard, but that he'd help him as much as he could.  
  
When Kegan extended his arm and pulled his sleeves back, showing the faint track marks, scars of tiny pin-points that also covered the insides of Devi's arm, in rainbow bruising and clotted blood, Devi knew that he wasn't lying about going through it himself, but still didn't want to do it.  
  
He'd tried, he said. He'd tried but it had been too painful, too stressful, he was too weak, he couldn't... he just couldn't...  
  
Kegan ignored him, and still ignored him even after his symptoms started: the cravings, the panic, the restlessness that clawed and ripped through his head, the inability to sleep, the terrible bone-deep itching for the needle, the shuddering shivers, the nerves in his skin so raw that any contact made him wince.  
  
Kegan ignored him but sat with him through the first three days, which were the worst.  
  
After Devi had coldly ignored him, tried to physically attack him, swear at him and eventually gotten down on his knees and begged Kegan to give him just one hit, just one more hit, please, with tears of frustration and agony almost carelessly trailing down his flushed face out of those wild eyes, Logan took over watching the boy while Kegan had a much needed break.  
  
Kegan, shaken and strung out from the abuse he'd been getting, plagued by memories of his own withdrawal and exhausted emotionally and physically, stalked to his room, passing various other people on his way and biting the head off anyone who tried to talk to him.  
  
Once there, he lay down on his bed, face buried in his arms and let everything crash down on him where he was safe and hidden.  
  
He fell asleep with the tears still in his eyes, and woke up with them red, but still felt better than he had done these past few days. He had a shower, was actually present for breakfast, and was eager to get back to watching Devi, who had calmed down after the worst had passed and was now more lucid, although still far from better.  
  
Kegan sat on Devi's bed, staring at him... Devi, in turn, was also seated on the bed, facing Kegan, arms crossed around his drawn up legs, chin resting on his knees and looking at nothing. He'd been like this for the past two days now, and it had developed into some kind of waiting game between the two.  
  
Kegan pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit up, sighing heavily after the first drag. He usually went outside to do this, but at that point, he really couldn't be bothered to move.  
  
"Can I borrow one?"  
  
He looked up, surprised slightly. Devi had a hand held out, shaky but noticeably less so from the first few days, where he'd practically been the human blur. Kegan lit up and handed him a cigarette and the two smoked together in silence, almost companionably. Eventually, Devi spoke.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Kegan snorted. "For what?"  
  
Devi gave him a look. "Fer being a bitch to you these past... however long it's been."  
  
Kegan waved a hand. "Forget it. I know what it's like coming off that drug and I was the same way. Really, don't stress over it."  
  
They were quiet for a while longer, then Kegan chuckled.  
  
"What?" Devi asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"You should be apologising to Logan, not me. You almost drove him to suicide... or homicide. Believe me; it was NOT pretty when he came out of here."  
  
Devi bit his lip and looked down. "I..." he stopped. "I don't feel comfortable around him." He said carefully.  
  
"How come?"  
  
Devi looked at Kegan, who looked back at him curiously, expression quizzical. He really didn't want to talk about himself, but he felt that he owed this guy that much, that he'd answer his questions for him.  
  
"The place I grew up was filled with people like him. You know, the angry- at-the-world guys with respect issues. He looks like someone in there as well, this guy... heh... he hated kids, really, loathed them; but I guess he didn't hate them that much to do what he did, hey. But yea... this guy was a sadist. He gave me this," Devi leant towards Kegan and brushed his hair back slightly, showing Kegan the small but deep scar hidden in his hair line above his left eye. "He threw me into a bedpost, knocked me out for a bit."  
  
Kegan didn't quite know how to take that. "Sorry." he eventually said. "I can sympathise with you. See this?" He pointed to the thin scar running a line across the left side of his face. "I was beat up by some narrow minded jerks and got this just for liking boys as much as girls. Fortunately, my powers kicked in at that time, and I nicked the guys sight, and managed to get away. It wasn't the first time I was attacked for being bi, and it wasn't the last time either. But at least now I could fight back."  
  
Devi looked at him with interest. "You're bi?"  
  
*Shit.* Kegan thought. "Uh, yea. Why, you gotta problem?"  
  
Devi laughed. "I don't make a practise of being a hypocrite. I'm a fag myself, I'm not exactly gonna get on your back about it."  
  
Kegan smiled. "Cool..."  
  
There was another period of silence, which Kegan broke. "So... did you have a boyfriend? I mean, before the whole 'being captured' thing."  
  
Devi shrugged. "No, not really. I mean, I slept with some guy, but I don't think we really had what you'd call a 'relationship' going on."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"What about you?"  
  
Kegan gritted his teeth. "Yea, I had a boyfriend. Not that I'd call that back-stabbing genist* bastard a boyfriend anymore." He seethed.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"He's the one who betrayed me to the MSDC. He waited 'til I had fallen asleep, then called them. They actually caught me in my own bed, stark naked. The bastard. Thankfully, the guy who'd come by to take me let me put some jeans on first."  
  
"Oh..." Devi said, a slight smirk on his face. "That's a shame."  
  
Kegan stopped being angry for a second and gave Devi a surprised look, not expecting that comment and unsure of how to take it.  
  
Devi grinned back with a suggestive look on his face. He was an impulsive kind of person, to the point that it could be a fault, and now that he didn't have to depend on having sex with strangers to stay alive, he was free to selectively approach who he wanted because he LIKED them, not because he needed something to eat and a place to stay.  
  
And why wouldn't he be attracted to Kegan?  
  
He had the kind of body that Devi liked, not bulging with muscles or rangy and lean, but just pleasantly muscled enough to make things interesting, but not bizarre. He had piercing aqua blue eyes above highly defined cheekbones set in an attractively chiselled face and topped with platinum blond hair, the green tips giving him a subtle edge, making him look like a scene boy.  
  
Apparently, Kegan caught Devi's interest as much as Devi caught Kegan's, and with Devi's direct statement, Kegan decided to move into the aggressive flirting playing field. He moved his hand across to Devi's and played with the other boy's cold and slender fingers. Devi shivered slightly, and Kegan stared at him heatedly the whole time.  
  
"Well, you know..." Kegan said playfully. "If it's such a problem for you... I can always take them back off again."  
  
Devi pretended to think. "I dunno. That'd make you the only person with no trousers on... I should probably do something to make you feel less like the odd one out..." He leant in closer to Kegan so that their foreheads were almost touching.  
  
"I think you'd probably need to take your trousers off too..." Kegan agreed softly, then leaned forward and kissed Devi gently, a quick caress of a kiss. Devi moved forward again for a longer kiss, one hand running up the outside of Kegan's arm, and that was a signal for them to suddenly explode into action, Kegan slipping his hands up underneath Devi's shirt, Devi moving almost into Kegan's lap, Kegan pulling Devi's shirt up and over his head, breaking the voracious kiss for a few seconds. Devi responded in like, so that the kissing could resume as soon as possible, which it did once both shirts had been flung to the floor.  
  
Devi traced a finger over the bleeding heart tattoo on Kegan's left bicep and giggled. Kegan smiled back at him, then found the bite mark scarred into Devi's shoulder, and paused to give Devi a questioning look. Devi turned his head away in shame, and Kegan responded by smirking and licking over the vicious mark, making Devi shiver and toss his head back. Kegan moved his head down to nibble across Devi's collarbones and came to the Japanese kanji tattooed there. He paused and rubbed his nose against Devi's.  
  
"Does that mean anything in particular?" He asked, in a voice which was short of breath.  
  
"It's Japanese for 'dirty'." Devi told him.  
  
"Oh really? Well, it'd better not be false advertising..."  
  
Devi laughed as Kegan's hands dived down to undo the fastening of Devi's jeans, and Devi whimpered, shifting his hips up when Kegan evilly ground his hand down between his legs. Kegan pushed Devi backwards, the two boys still attached at the mouth, Kegan finding Devi's lip ring very interesting, and then tugged his jeans down. Devi broke away and arched his back so that Kegan could pull them down, and then off as Devi stretched his legs out.  
  
Kegan now lay down against Devi, blanketing him with his body and devouring his mouth. Devi ran his hands up and across Kegan's strong back, while raising his hips to grind up into Kegan's. Kegan hissed and broke the kiss, licking at Devi's lips, then pushing himself up on his arms above the other boy, looking around the room searchingly.  
  
Devi squirmed under Kegan, running a finger up his chest.  
  
"What are you looking for?" he asked, panting.  
  
"Something... we can...ah-ha..." Kegan replied distractedly, getting off Devi and moving over to a shelf to grab a jar of something like antiseptic cream, then coming back to straddle the smaller boy again. "Lube." he said, grinning and showing Devi the tub.  
  
Devi grinned back and took the tub from Kegan's hands, unscrewing it and holding it out for Kegan with an eyebrow raised.  
  
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((yea, sorry... this IS R rated... but, if you WANT to read them getting it on, my email is in my authors profile, just drop me a line and I'll send it to you))  
  
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Gabriel fell down beside Kegan, breathing hard.  
  
"Well..." Kegan eventually said.  
  
"Yea." Gabe smiled, turning to his side and cuddling against Kegan, entwining their legs and resting a hand on Kegan's chest.  
  
Kegan ran a hand over Devi's hips, feeling some unevenness, then looking down. He rubbed his thumb over one of the tiny crescent-moon scars. "What's this?" he asked curiously.  
  
Devi didn't freeze physically, but something about him seemed to still. He spoke, attempting to sound blasé but something dark still came through in his voice.  
  
"I told you, didn't I, that the place I grew up... the guy at the foster home who didn't like kids, but didn't hate them as much as he was letting on..." He swallowed. "Of course, we'd try to fight him off. I never stopped struggling..."  
  
Kegan pressed a hand into his hair and kissed the top of his head softly, and Gabe was quiet. He lay on Kegan's chest with his eyes closed, and eventually, Kegan's deep, rhythmic breathing sent him to join his lover in sleep.  
  
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Tone lay on her back on the hospital type bed, looking up and away as a metallic instrument waved in her peripheral vision. Jean stood back finally.  
  
"That's all of them."  
  
Tone sat up gingerly and looked into a mirror that Jean floated in front of her. She studied the scar in her face and rubbed a thumb near it gently.  
  
"It looks much better." Jean reassured her with a smile.  
  
While Devi had been getting clean, Tone's face had been healing, and now Jean had taken out the stitches it looked much better. Rae's red streaked head poked round the door, followed by the bluing streaked blondness of Lia, who needed to redye.  
  
"How is she?" Lia grinned, falling over as she overbalanced and grabbing to Rae to save her. Rae, being an inch shorter and having less body mass, and as she was also leaning in, toppled over to land in a mass of legs and arms on top of Lia.  
  
Tone laughed at the giggling, apologising girls on the floor.  
  
"I'm a lot better'n you two by the looks o'things." She chuckled, her Irish lilt still as strong as it had ever been.  
  
Rae sat back on her knees while Lia sat up and then got to her feet, bending to give Rae a hand up.  
  
"Sorry Rae." Lia said, grinning from ear to ear. "Next time I want you on the floor, I'll ask okay?"  
  
Rae blushed, but gave Lia a friendly slap on the arm. Over the months she had grown closer to Lia, but still remained confused by the girl's light, friendly flirting. Was she serious or not? Rae hadn't been brave enough to question. Lia slung the slapped arm over Rae's shoulder then turned to Tone.  
  
"Scott wants us for a training session Tone." She explained. "He said for us to come up with you when you were ready."  
  
Rae, smiling, looked over at Jean and their eyes met. Rae's smile dropped and she actually had to take a step back when she was faced with the venom that was suddenly and inexplicably directed at her.  
  
*What did I DO?* She thought, panicked, and Jean picked up on it, realising that she was sending hate-filled glares Rae's way. She turned her eyes down, suppressing the jealousy inside her, then looked back up with a soft smile.  
  
Rae wasn't taken in for a second. Having seen the poison in Jean's eyes, she couldn't look at her smile without seeing it linger in her expression, and Jean just looked to her like a wolf before the attack on the flock.  
  
"Rae?" Rae jumped and turned to Lia with a startled face. Lia gave her a concerned look. "Are you okay? You look a bit... off."  
  
Rae attempted a smile. "No, no, I'm fine." She gave Jean a brief glance, then tugged Lia's arm. "Shall we go?"  
  
Lia looked between the tall redhead and the shorter Asian girl, and was unconvinced. "Okay then. C'mon Tone." she chirped, back to her bouncy self. She pulled Rae out of the room.  
  
Tone turned to jean before she left. "Thanks." She said, before jogging to catch up with the other girls.  
  
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Jean watched the three leave, then turned to look out of the window. Scott was holding a training session in the garden today, and she watched, after a few minutes, as Tone, Lia and Rae wandered, chatting and giggling, out to meet the former X-men leader, joining Bryn, Lukka and Brian, who were already out there.  
  
She eavesdropped gently on their uppermost thoughts, just skimming the top layer.  
  
Bryn was apparently thinking in Italian, so Jean had no idea what he was thinking, although the tone of his thoughts seemed vaguely puzzled, in an exploratory way more than anything else.  
  
Brian's thoughts were tinged darkly, as they always were, and he was anxious about the close social situation. He hadn't interacted much with the other students over the past few months, as he was painfully shy, but also afraid that he might do something to hurt one of them. He seemed to always be watching over his own shoulder, which gave Jean something of a headache at times. However, his mind seemed to lighten when he thought about the Irish girl, which led Jean to believe that Brian had some kind of affection for her.  
  
Taking a quick look into Tone's thoughts, she was pleased to find that the feeling was reciprocated. She found his withdrawn personality intriguing in that she could sense that there was something under it all, but she was entranced by his blue eyes. She kept giving him glances when she thought he wasn't looking to have another look at them. Jean was amused when their gaze met and held, nothing going through their heads until they came to their senses and pretended to be distracted by something else, reddening, while the same thoughts went through their minds.  
  
*Oh NO, I was SEEN!*  
  
Lukka was thinking some extremely predatory thoughts about... Bryn. It seemed that he had something about long hair in the same way that Tone had something about blue eyes, and he was letting his thoughts run rampant. When he started wondering about the... mechanics of their relationship, Jean pulled out of his mind, blushing slightly. She quietly wished him good luck, and Lukka lifted his head suddenly.  
  
*I could've SWORN I heard something just then...*  
  
She turned, mentally smiling, to Lia, by far her favourite. She didn't hear anything from her at all, her blocks were so good. It was like taking a cool bath on a hot and sticky day, refreshing and liberating in some way. For a while, there was comparative silence in Jean's head, without the minimal amount of bleedthrough that she had, something she had started experiencing a little bit more ever since the massacre.  
  
She turned, lastly, her thoughts to Rae, listening with disdain to her pathetic joking and ramblings. The girl was as unorganised and chaotic in her head as Jean was finding her in any other situation. She had a little dig deeper into the girl's thoughts.  
  
*... I don't know... it could just be me. I mean, she IS pretty friendly with the other guys as well... maybe it's just wishful thinking that's making me think she's flirting with me...*  
  
Jean sent a cutting thought spitefully her way.  
  
*Yes, why would she want me...? I'm obviously no match for her, I should just BACK OFF!*  
  
Rae shook her head, startled by the vehemence of that thought. Lia noticed her putting a hand to her head.  
  
"Are you alright Rae?"  
  
Rae smiled a little. "Yea, I'm okay... it's probably just my brain rebounding off the other side of my skull after that fall. Musta taken this long to reach the other side." She joked.  
  
Lia frowned and gave Rae a quick hug. "Stop that, you're smart and you know it. Now come one. Scott wants us to pair up and you're gonna be MY partner." She said defiantly, linking their arms.  
  
Rae laughed and Jean scowled, moving back from the window. She didn't want to witness this sickening sight anymore.  
  
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"Okay people, listen up!" Scott announced, quieting the random chatter of the six teens. "I need you to pair up. We're going to try using our powers in groups of two today, to work on your focus."  
  
They had had the preliminary session to work through their powers and judge how much control they all had over them. This was just another one of those, the last sessions having consisted of power demonstration, offensive against a machine and defensive against a machine. This was the first time they were going to use their powers on each other, and they were both nervous and excited at once.  
  
"Okay... remember, this exercise is about CONTROL. Be careful with each other, and be AWARE of each other... okay... go!"  
  
Lia faced off against Rae, as she had said.  
  
"Ready?" She asked, standing with her hands on her hips, legs slightly apart in a steady stance.  
  
"Whenever you are." Rae grinned back, pricking her slightly pointed ears and turning her head in order to pick up as much sound as she could.  
  
Lia took a deep breath in and exhaled in a blow, sending a steady stream of mainly red and silver glitter at Rae. Rae danced out of the way, then held her hands up, sending the gathered power of the sounds towards the other girl. Her blast was off however, and it skimmed Lia's shoulder and grazed the grass behind her, making a small furrow in the grass.  
  
"Watch it." Lukka called, as the blast nearly hit him in the foot. He turned back to Bryn, who took advantage of Lukka's momentary lapse in concentration to focus enough to slow the other boy down. He broke the strands of coppery hair which had wrapped themselves around his wrist, and walked forward, seeming, to the slowed Lukka, to be running. He came nearer and let go of his power, allowing time to speed back up so that his kick to Lukka's legs was effective. Lukka went down, but used his hair to catch himself and push him back up, where he aimed a wave of his hair to slap Bryn in the face. Bryn saw this coming with his power, and had dodged out of the way to avoid it.  
  
"Sorry." Rae called. Her distraction was what Lia needed to get close enough to make her powers work. She let another load of dust out into Rae's face and, although Rae tried to shove it away from her with her powers, she was hit and immobilised, freezing in place. The small sound blast that she had sent back at Lia caught the other girl in the face, and some of her own dust went down her windpipe. She doubled over coughing, trying to get the dust out, eventually having to reach into her pocket for her asthma inhaler while Rae looked on, worried but unable to do anything about it.  
  
Brian was powering up, taking electrical energy from the cables running under the ground. He only used a small amount, being wary of the strain that it had on his body, and he then let go with a punch to Tone's midriff. Tone had had no formal training in fighting before and she didn't have much strength, but she was very fast and the blow only glanced off her. She'd been trying to avoid using her powers, but was beginning to realise that she had to if she wanted to win against Brian's enhanced abilities. She stared with her solid black eyes, intently at Brian, who suddenly released the energy that he had been storing and dropped to his knees, hands over his head.  
  
"No, no... I didn't mean to, I'm not a killer..." He whimpered, seeing the dead body of his father in his mind and the expression's on the faces of his mother and little brother. "I didn't mean to... I'm not like him, I'm not... it was an accident, I didn't mean to kill him."  
  
Tone relaxed, letting up with her power, and her eyes came back into focus. She ran to Brian and shook him. "I'm sorry." She wailed, distressed.  
  
Scott came up to see what the fuss was about, calling to the other pairs to have a break. They kept their distance, although they did look over to see if anything was really wrong. Rae was still stiff and Lia was now sitting on the grass next to her trying to get her breath back. Lukka was rubbing his cheek where Bryn had got a foot in, and Bryn was running his finger underneath the bracelet of hair now wrapped around his wrist.  
  
"What happened?" Scott asked, gently moving Tone to the side and checking Brian over for any physical injuries.  
  
"I used me powers on 'im, tha's all, I din't know he was gonna do this, I din't mean to... I'm really sorry..." Tone stammered. Scott held up a hand to her to get a word in.  
  
"It's okay Tone. It's just the effects of your powers. Brian will be okay."  
  
He turned to Brian, who had now been released from Tone's influence, but was still sitting with his head in his hands on the grass.  
  
"You okay?" He asked.  
  
Brian sat there, then stood up, facing away. "I need a second." he said gruffly.  
  
"It's okay. You can go on in." Scott told him, then turned to the others. "Training's over for today guys."  
  
Brian was already walking away. After a few seconds of anxiously watching, Tone ran after him.  
  
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"Brian."  
  
Brian stopped, wiping at his eyes, then turned round to face Tone.  
  
"I'm so sorry. I would never'a used me powers on yeh if I'da thought..."  
  
He cut her off. "It's okay. You didn't know, and they ARE you're powers after all." He gave her a weak smile. "I just won't go up against you again."  
  
Tone smiled, but it collapsed back into a frown. "I feel really bad about it though." She watched his face. "Do yeh wanna talk about it?"  
  
Brian turned away, then went to lean against the wall, uncertain if he wanted to spill it or not. Tone came to stand next to him.  
  
"You c'n tell me, I won't tell anyone else." She said quietly. "And it might even make yeh feel better about it... whatever it is."  
  
Brian looked at her and smiled, but it was strained. "I don't know if you're going to like me after I tell you." he said.  
  
She smirked. "Try me."  
  
So he told her, all about how his dad was abusive and angry, about how his dad always seemed to prefer taking it out on his younger brother Daniel, how it had gotten so bad on that one night that Brian had snapped and put all his power into a punch which subsequently killed his dad and how he had been so appalled by his actions that he had run away and left home.  
  
And then Tone hugged him and told him that it was okay, and that it didn't mean that he was like his father, that she didn't feel any different about him now than before, except, maybe, a little bit more proud because of what he had gone through and what he had done for his brother.  
  
Then, she leaned up and kissed him gently, and Brian felt the weight of his history ease a little, and they stayed, leaning and kissing against the wall for a little bit longer until they were called in for dinner.  
  
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After he'd gone to his room and washed and changed into a simple shirt and pair of slacks, Bryn curled up on the window seat reading Kafka's 'The Trial' in its original German. He heard a knock on the door and carefully bookmarked his place before going to answer. He was surprised to see Lukka standing there, also changed into a pair of jeans and a green buttoned-up shirt.  
  
"Hello." Bryn said politely, slightly confused as to why Lukka was here.  
  
"Hi." Lukka grinned. "I'm not bothering you am I?"  
  
"Not at all." Bryn replied. "Is there something you needed?"  
  
"Well, kinda." Lukka smiled, his hair curling and uncurling at the ends in slight nervousness. "I was wondering if you wanted to maybe have lunch with me? As a thank you for healing me."  
  
As Bryn thought, Lukka noticed the bracelet of hair still around Bryn's wrist and internally raised an eyebrow. Hmm... that was interesting, to say the least.  
  
Bryn looked puzzled but nodded. "Alright. Do I need to change?" He asked.  
  
"Oh, no. You're fine." Lukka said, then giggled in his head. "Just come with me."  
  
Bryn followed Lukka as they walked, suddenly realising that they were walking up a spiralled flight of stairs.  
  
"This isn't the way to the dining room." He pointed out.  
  
"Oh, I know." Lukka said. "We're going somewhere else to eat for a change."  
  
Bryn accepted this and followed Lukka all the way to the top and through a door. The room on the other side was small but not cramped. There was a large balcony type window through which a cool breeze was blowing and there was a blanket spread out on the floor with two plates and two cups set out on it, a large box taking place in the middle.  
  
"What is this?" Bryn questioned, looking at Lukka questioningly.  
  
"It's a picnic." Lukka said, sitting down and beckoning Bryn to sit down next to him. "You did something nice for me, so I thought I'd do something nice for you."  
  
Bryn sat down in shock, and Lukka served them both.  
  
Bryn surreptitiously watched Lukka as they ate. He was somewhat flattered by the lengths the other boy had gone to for him, and was confused by the feelings that raced inside him. He'd only ever felt this way towards the opposite sex before, but when Lukka looked up at him with questioning exotic hazel and yellow eyes he felt something inside flip in a way that was unpleasant but exciting at the same time.  
  
What was going on?  
  
Lukka felt Bryn looking at him and wondered what he was thinking. Of course he had an ulterior motive behind this picnic. He was slowly seducing Bryn without the other boy even noticing. It had taken him this long to gauge that Bryn had only ever been straight, but that he might be persuaded to try 'new' relationships, and then he had had to prepare everything... but so far things were going well.  
  
"Cheers." Lukka said, lifting his wine glass to Bryn, who tilted his and gently touched it to Lukka's.  
  
Lukka drank without taking his eyes from Bryn's face, and Bryn stared back, that strange and familiar feeling bubbling up inside him once again.  
  
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Logan sparred with Liz as part of her training, intense and hard. As the other girl was so much older than the others, and as a result of the trauma she had gone through which made her slightly leery of using her powers, the others had decided that it would be better if she trained with Logan, especially as she seemed to have a better relationship with him than with any of the others who were training.  
  
Towards the end of the session, which was a mind-blowing display of physical agility and self-discipline, Logan had allowed his claws to show through. Liz hadn't stopped, being so focused on winning, and she let go with the red ice that was her power.  
  
Logan managed to block most of it with his claws. Liz's red ice had no affect on metal, but some of it landed on Logan's hands and began eating at his skin. He hissed and ignored it, the ice soon melting off and his skin regenerating. Logan caught Liz's foot on her next kick and disabled her.  
  
"Alright Streaks, that's enough for today."  
  
Liz, panting hard, took a deep breath and relaxed, and Logan let her go. She turned and saw the pink skin still in the process of healing where her attack had hit and looked down.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I should've been more in control..." She began apologising.  
  
"Look kid, don't worry. We'll work on your control okay, I'm a tough guy, I can take it." He said grinning. "You should never be ashamed of using your powers. It's part of who you are, and suppressing it means suppressing a vital part of yourself."  
  
Liz stood as if chastened, and Logan's face softened. He slung a towel over his shoulders and threw one to Liz. "Good fight anyway."  
  
Liz looked up and caught the towel, smiling back at him. "You weren't so bad yourself." She said.  
  
As they walked back to their separate rooms, Liz glanced out of the window and sighed deeply. Logan stopped. "What's wrong?"  
  
Liz went over and crossed her elbows on the sill. "I just want to get out of here." She said. "I mean, it's not that I don't like you... or the girls or anything, it's just... I don't feel like I fit."  
  
Logan shook his head. "O'course you belong here Streaks. If I do, then you HAVE to."  
  
She didn't smile, just continuing to look from the window. Logan put a hand on her shoulder and she turned away and started walking back down the corridor.  
  
"Don't worry about it kid." Logan told her. "You'll settle down eventually."  
  
They separated, walking down different corridors, and Liz muttered darkly to herself. "I don't think I'll stay around here that long."  
  
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*Genist: someone who discriminates against other people because of genes... I made it up ^____^  
  
Look! You have TWO quotes for this chapter. Aren't you special? I'm sorry this chapter took so long to get out, but I had severe block and many unassessed essays to write for Uni. In the end I just wrote something and this is what I've posted, and I know its crap... I'm sorry.  
  
Also, I know it looks like I'm rushing some things, and making some of your characters seem slightly off, (for example, Jean vs Rae, who, by the way, I DO NOT hate... it's just that Jean does...) but there's a plan. I trust in the plan. My muse trusts in the plan. Do you trust in the plan? Yes you do... I know you do....  
  
Thanks to Trunksblue for the idea to use that lyric from Greenday, and to Demon for scaring me into writing and telling me stories. ^___^ 


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